PMD: Blue Winters and Red Passions
by AmorphousExplorer
Summary: Step by step, reaching and outstretched, one young Tyrunt will realize how hard it can be to bring back what one Winter took away from him. Another season of frigid ice looms over Treasure Town. But the child dons the badge of the heralded ranks of explorers defending Novo. AU, set around one year after PMD: Explorers of Time.
1. Interview with a hopeful Tyrunt

**Hello everyone! After mulling over some things/receiving some opinions on this story, I have come to see the need for a few disclaimers. **

**1.) There is a character in this story named 'Sambo' after the Russian martial arts style. I am aware of the implications a 'lazy Sambo' can bring, but I assure you that the purpose of the name lies solely in the former definition.**

**2.) Some content in this story may be disturbing to readers. Later chapters touch on suicide and near-graphic (but still T-rated) injury/death. I do not introduce these aspects for the shock value, but because I deemed them necessary to creating both the characters and the world around them. If you have any reservations after reading this disclaimer, feel free to send me a private message and I will discuss my purposes in greater detail. **

**3.) If anything confuses you at all, at any time, know preemptively that some of it is supposed to do so; many plot points are talked about before their official introduction, and it is up to you (the reader) to catch them - lest you be shocked when you finally discover the secrets they carried. Read the story, ask many questions beginning with "why?", and assume positively your ability to interpret this story on your own. If you leave a review asking a question, however, I will answer it honestly.**

**Now, on with the story: **

* * *

**Part One: the Final Frontier**

A grim Chatot swung out a list and planted his blue wing on a spot halfway down. "Explain number seven to me, recruit: What do you mean by placing _exploring the Final Frontier_ as your ultimate goal for joining my guild?"

An entire world of experience and glory filled the gap between the recruit and the Guild Master. Unnerved by the silent room, the recruit struggled to give his confident answer.

"Uh, yeah! That's exactly it: to discover and explore the Final Frontier, and nothing less is acceptable. I know it's very, very high up there in terms of goals - maybe even a little impossible for someone like me - but anything else would be a lie. I want to see the world, of course, but to become so strong that I may reach the end of it? It sounds like such a great dream!"

The weathered Chatot ruffled his bright feathers. His countenance grew more dogged than when he first brought up the young Tyrunt's application, which transformed the singing bird into a dull, silent judge. Something hopeful glowed in the Chatot's eyes before and he was deeply impressed by the Tyrunt's physical potential.

The Tyrunt was large for his age. His hide shone healthily with a nice hue of grey that the extremely cold Winter couldn't kill. Compared to the other recruits, he was well-fed and obviously motivated beyond free meals and a place to sleep. A minute prior to this turn for the worse, the Tyrunt received _compliments _from the Guild Master on how resourceful he must be. As a possible recruit, his ability to upkeep his health as an orphan better than most parented children had interested the Chatot.

In the light of this new information, though, he now regarded the Tyrunt as if he was no more than a cruel joke. Though very young, the Tyrunt caught on to this shift quickly, melting his nervous grin and putting him on the defensive.

"This interview is over," the Chatot muttered coldly.

The walls of the spacious room used only for applicant reviews closed in around the Tyrunt. The Guild Master denied him. A judgment passed not on his prowess nor his determination, but on the core of his beliefs. The Tyrunt's passion which drove him forward, fierce as an Ekans, now constricted about its own length and killed itself prematurely.

"No, no! Don't w-wave me away just yet." The Tyrunt bowed his head and begged for a second chance. "My interview simply cannot end like this. I can explain everything that led me to this decision, and then you'll see that this goal is well placed."

Chatot addressed the four commanders sitting behind him with a dry glance. The four great commanders sat equidistant to one another and symmetrical to their Guild Master. Set up in this fashion, any would-be recruit could witness all of them in their great glory. Whether it intimidated or inspired the recruit tested but one essential aspect of an explorer.

Held against the strong flames of these four Pokémon, any story or explanation became petty and embarrassing. Pokémon chose from a wide range of morals and ethics as varied as Pokémon themselves. A recruit that owned the tenacity to say _I am right and you are wrong_ to them had a great chance of moving forward - provided they were polite while doing so, of course.

"I vote to end this here and now," Chatot said slowly, "but if one of you wishes to hear the child ramble, we will wait. Considering this new... information, I'm sure that you've all decided similarly."

The first commander, a bouncy Sylveon, showed sympathy towards the Tyrunt's cause. In the better half of the Tyrunt's interview her head bobbed about excitedly. She couldn't get enough of how, as she put it, "gosh-darn cute those Tyrunt's tiny arms are". Yet the Sylveon also conferred her agreement with the Chatot's decision by giving him a little nod - a silly attempt to hide how she just rejected the desperate applicant. Adorned with extravagant lengths of styled fur, however, the Sylveon couldn't hide it very well.

Second in the row and second to turn down the Tyrunt was a stern Mienshao, whose eyes didn't seem capable of looking anywhere but straight at the recruit. He didn't display any emotion before, but its arrival now did not bode well for the Tyrunt. When the Mienshao suddenly cut off his unsettling glare and scoffed indignantly, the Tyrunt turned his attention to the next commander; no further response was necessary from the contemptuous Mienshao.

A Sunflora, his second-to-last chance, debated quietly with herself. By the simple change in her posture - which looked like she was wilting - the Tyrunt could tell she was thinking very hard on the issue. Finally, however, she too shook her head. "oh my gosh," she whispered nervously, as if denying him was an accident. "Maybe when you're older."

The Tyrunt had all but given up hope by now. It was obvious that he had made a grievous mistake when he told them his aspirations. Disappointment tore at him, and he only desired to walk away with dignity.

But, slumped forward and straight-faced, a Pangoro still stood undecided. He was a tower of both brawn and lean features and deadly in a way only matched by the lean Mienshao two seats away from him. How inconceivable it was, at that bleak point, that the Pangoro's large paw rose slowly. His face remained expressionless as he inspected the small child. He stopped chewing on a small twig long enough to say: "eh. Go ahead, shoot."

Four varying degrees of exasperation came from his colleagues, but none more obvious than the Mienshao's groan. Severely frustrated, the Mienshao threw his paws up angrily. "But of course!" He bared his teeth and practically hissed at the Pangoro. "Leave it to Sambo!" _L__eave it to Sambo _rung out to the recruit as something oft-repeated in the halls of the guild.

"Oh, what are you complaining about?" The little leaves on Sambo's twig twisted about lazily as he chewed it. "Who's up next anyway. Some Joltik or another?" To express his opinion of that, he yawned loudly._  
_

"You lethargic twig-eater!" Though the Tyrunt wouldn't admit it to the Mienshao's face, even he could think of a better insult than _twig-eater._

The Pangoro laughed loudly and swallowed his stick with a loud _gulp_. "Hey Maga, when I say the words _round two_, what do they mean to you?" The Mienshao tried to offer up a retort, but ended up shuddering when Sambo coughed the twig back up. He resumed his chewing as if nothing happened. "That's what I thought." He waved his paw disdainfully. "Okay, short-arms, go."

The Tyrunt nodded ferociously and wasted no time. "Thank you Commander Sambo! I-it all began with the heroes of time-"

"What doesn't nowadays?" Sambo grunted and inspected the stick he coughed up. He wiped it off on his chest and put it back into his mouth.

He nodded, but didn't quite understand the interruption. "Uh, I suppose so. Without them, none of us would be here now," he guessed weakly. "A-anyway, t-they-"

"What's your name again?" The Pangoro had once again interrupted him.

"Did you allow me to talk just so you can interrupt me over and over?" The young Tyrunt snapped. Instantly after saying this, the Pokémon shrunk away, embarrassed and scared of the consequences. Everyone turned to see how the Pangoro would take it, but he only waited. "My name is Aorun, Commander Sambo," the Tyrunt whimpered fearfully.

Sambo nodded, accepting the shaking and whimpering as an apology. "If you become a part of my team, I will beat you for saying that. But for now, Aorun: tell me about the Heroes of Time."

They might not believe him, but what Aorun said was the truth: "the Heroes of Time... my friend and I knew them personally." The instant Chatot's eyes flashed with pure rage and his talons worked to roll his application back up, the Tyrunt desperately leaped into his story.

"My friend Leek - a Tepig - and I were playing by the river, in this meadow hidden away from view!" He cried out frantically, before the Chatot's talons sealed his fate. "Two months went by after the resolution reached by the Heroes of Time, and Leek was allowed out by his parents to go and play with me finally. I have no parents to tell me when to stay inside, so I was there watching the fierce Marowak Trixie speak to everyone in Treasure Town from the beginning."

Somehow, Aorun got the Chatot to quit rolling up the application. The stern Guild Master allowed it to unravel. He stared through the recruit and into the distance. Aorun turned around, but nothing was there anymore. Only empty space.

"It made me really moved and also really guilty to see her so upset and up on that stage everyday like a side-show. Trixie told us her sad story, talked about why the Time Gear Crisis was very bad and that trusting one another is very important. Or else the next time a disaster came up, she and her friends wouldn't be around to throw their lives away saving everybody."

"I know that she never changed her mind about anything in the daily speeches, but it devastated her more and more every time. She started to break down near the end of the first month, and if Inferno the Quilava didn't return, who knows what would have-"

The Guild Master started to flap his right wing about, trying to dispel all the talk about Trixie's condition after the Time Gear Crisis. "Enough, we get it," he choked out quietly. "Quit digressing and get to your story."

The Tyrunt nodded. "S-sorry, Guild Master. When I saw the two of them walking through our secret meadow one day, I just knew I had to go and talk to them. Leek was very scared, but my mind couldn't be changed; even so Trixie seemed a bit happier in the meadow than on the stage, both of them were still mourning over the death of their Grovyle friend. They were very confused on what I was trying to say at first - I was very nervous! But once they realized, they thanked me. And..." he faltered in his story, caught by emerging apprehension.

The Sylveon, who was so desperate to hide her disapproval, now leaned forward. "And _what?_" She asked eagerly. "Come on, is that really it?" Aorun yelped and scampered away as the Sylveon threw herself in front of his face. Her silky fur smacked against his nose and nearly made him sneeze on her. "Tell me, tell me, tell m_e!"_ She pouted angrily.

Sambo sighed. "Quit it, Pep. Are you feeling okay, Aorun?"

Aorun was not. It confused him, but a slight stirring began in his stomach the further he dived into his memory of the Heroes of Time. "I don't really get it." It only hurt more Aorun when admitted it out loud to the commanders. "But trying to remember the happy times that came from this doesn't make me happy like it should. It makes me... sad."

Pep inspected him curiously and pawed at his small arms. It took a lot of effort on Aorun's part to ignore it. "Why?"

"Maybe because I'll never be able to recreate them, now," he said.

A collection of sighs showed that everyone in the room had once felt the same way. It made them all slightly more empathetic, and all the more curious to find out how this child was somehow related to the Heroes of Time. Aorun quelled the bad feelings in his stomach, and continued on with a tale that unsettled him when it should have provided him comfort.

"I-it was really funny," Aorun said after some time. "How much they surprised me. The were so easy to be around..."

* * *

**A Week Before the Coldest Winter**

The Quilava clapped his claws together excitedly. "I got it, Trixie - I figured this Tyrunt out! _T-t-t-tha_," he mimicked, "means _thank you_. And 'sor-eh... s-soo-rry'means 'sorry'!" Trixie shared in his excitement as she had shared in his confusion, nodding emphatically to her partner. "He's saying thank you for your speeches, and sorry because Grovyle... is gone." A slight damper rained on the two's victory over the trembling Tyrunt.

Caught in the bright sun and surrounded with tons of colorful flowers, however, they were able to move on. "Well, uh, wow." Trixie fumbled around with her claws, not knowing what to say. It amazed the Tyrunt to see these two Pokémon, battle-hardened and extremely powerful, smile and shrug like he and Leek would. "Thank you very much. It is very brave for you to come forward and tell me that- not a lot of Pokémon have taken the time, really."

Trixie gripped her bone club and looked up thoughtfully, her gleaming bone mask hiding everything but her hopeful eyes. "And there is no need to worry about that Grovyle," she told Aorun dreamily. "I dream of him every night, of him telling me that he is okay. He is happy now, back in a world that may be called his own. One day I will be able to visit him somehow, and this pain will be put behind me. And," she added, "I have Inferno with me. Inferno..."

she turned to the Quilava suddenly, grabbing onto his claws tightly. "You won't leave me again, right?" She pleaded. "Now that we've retired ourselves from exploring, there isn't anything that can take you away?" He lurched in closer to her, looked back to see Aorun and Leek still watching, and then quickly stopped his approach.

"Yes," he answered slowly, "we did it. We made it through everything, and now it's our time to relax. All is finally over between us and the Time Gears." Disregarding the two children and unable to resist any longer, the two embraced each other, laughing with crazed relief.

Leek nudged Aorun quietly. "My mom said they'd be this happy," the Tepig whispered to his friend. "She called it _closure_. Now they can have fun and do activities all day!"

"But it doesn't look like they know how," Aorun whispered back. Instead of enjoying their time in the meadow, the Marowak and the Quilava refused to quit from their very tight hug. Tears of joy fell from Trixie's eyes and out from under the bone helmet, watering the red flowers beneath her feet. "Maybe we should teach them!"

"Wuh_?!" _Leek cried out. "We can't teach the Heroes of Time how to do anything! They're the masters of everything!" Aorun cringed, his nerves completely shot; Leek spoke too loudly, and now the two Heroes were staring at them!

The Quilava took in a deep breath and released it in a long chuckle. "Teach us what, you two?"

He argued against approaching them, but now Leek looked more comfortable than ever in their presence. "Tag_!" _He yelled out happily. "We can teach the Heroes of Time how to play tag!"

A loud sob wrenched its way of the Marowak's throat. "_T-tag?"_ She sputtered out, confused. "Oh Arceus, I don't even remember the last time I had the chance. T-there's all this time now, t-to do these things. It really is all over, it is all over and we can be carefree again!_" _Aorun knew that Marowak as a species were very emotional, and he used this information to explain away the way she dropped down and started to cry.

"Oh, don't break down!" Leek implored. "Tag is an easy game - even Aorun knows how to play this!"

Aorun put on his best, eager smile. "Yeah- wait, what? Hey, Leek, that's mean..."

"You'll remember how to play in no time, I promise." To prove his point, he jumped forward bravely and planted a paw on her leg. Still sniffling, Trixie watched the paw calmly. "You're it! Now you have to chase us around." Still sobbing a little, the Marowak rose up to her feet and watched as Leek jumped away.

She took a step forward and observed how the two children scattered, desperate to get a head start on the fast Hero of Time. "Arceus, this is embarrassing," she giggled. Inferno stepped back as well, and the Marowak started to choose her target. Eventually, however, she simply stopped and shook her head. "I don't know," Trixie sighed, "but this game may not be the one for - _hah!_" Without any warning, the Marowak flew at Inferno, claw stretched and ready to tag.

Generally, when Leek was close enough to Aorun or the other way around, it meant that the title of _it_ would soon be changing hands. Even so Inferno had been duped by his partner, however, the Quilava somehow slithered away from her reach. The flowers danced about them as Trixie tried to plant her claw on his chest. But his deceptively fast movements kept him at the edge of her attacks. Two blurs replaced the Heroes of Time and it was nearly impossible to follow their movements.

Until a bone club swept Inferno off of his feet. A softened _thud_ rang out as the Quilava slammed into the ground, disoriented. "_Ow_," he groaned, "that hurts."

"Are you going to complain about cheating?" Trixie teased.

"No," Inferno grunted, "but, Trixie... please do not play that rough with the children." The Marowak laughed and spun her club around gleefully.

Aorun was completely taken aback. "We're playing tag with you_?!" _He shouted out, appalled. He turned to Leek and found out that he too was agape. Inferno sat up and gave them an amused glance as he prepared to jump at them. Nodding to one another nervously, they prepared themselves for the craziest game they ever played.

* * *

"Oh, yeah!" Pep said. "I remember that day, kind of. They were very somber when they left, but when they returned, they went about the guild asking if we wanted to play tag. I'm glad to know that it wasn't just a bout of the crazies catching up to them."

Sambo rolled his eyes at the dainty Sylveon. "Aorun, you played with them, how often did you say?"

"About three times a week."

The Mienshao shot up, his paws shaking furiously. "Are you kidding me?" he growled. "They wasted three days of their week playing tag with you _brats _yet only two on actually training their new guild-mates? Stupid, lackluster idiots!_" _Enraged beyond reason, he began to walk towards Aorun.

The Sunflora broke out of her own spot and leaped on Maga, putting him back into his spot. "Calm down Maga!" She implored. But she too went into a sudden rage, and started to pin Maga down. Maga struggled, but she seemed to have both experience and surprise on her side. "And they aren't idiots! How dare you?" It was a piercing, upset scream that accompanied the leafy hand striking across the Mienshao's face.

A white paw flew up by the side of the Sunflora's face and threw her down, putting Maga on top. "I don't care what they did! They could have killed Arceus for all I care!" He spat out words wildly, abandoning his stern composure. He wiped a small streak of blood off of his nose onto the long sleeves coming from his arms.

"If they had been around to train more Pokémon, our situation would be completely different now!"

Sunny shifted to the right. A white paw slammed into the place where her head used to be. "Yes, Maga, because they deserved to suffer in a stuffy cave after what they went through, right? I'd like to see you try and persevere through _half_ of what they went through. Y-you could only go through half of it, because no one can stand to be around you! Not even your recruits! You w-will never have a partner!"

"That's a lie, you stuck-up weed! Enjoy some nepotistic treatment lately? Priority on selecting recruits due to _seniority?_ Please - don't make me laugh!"

Pep stood protectively in front of the new recruit as the Guild Master broke up the battling Pokémon. Disinterested, Sambo waited patiently and chewed on his twig. It hurt Aorun to see two of the great commanders fighting, but he also knew that this was a very volatile subject for them all. The Guild Master breathed heavily and tiredly. "Thank you Guild Master Berceuse," Maga gasped. "Sunny's gone insane with delusions."

"And you've gone insane with delusions of conjecture," he retorted. "I expect utmost reverence for Team Reach..." Berceuse looked back, almost as if he wished to gaze into the past. "The Heroes of Time."

Maga scowled. "Of course, Guild Master, take the side of your ex-assistant." He leaned in close to Berceuse's face, but the bird did not budge one bit. "But guess what, Berceuse? This isn't the Wigglytuff Guild anymore. It's the Chatot Guild. All of those old positions you're favoring are obsolete. Want to be wise? Try being impartial first."

"How much do you like your position, Maga?" Berceuse asked casually. "I have to admit that your youthful vigor has its moments... but this new behavior is fraying my nerves. Cease this childish behavior, or I will."

"This guild won't survive without me," the Mienshao replied, his voice shaky and unsure. "You wouldn't do something like that-"

Pep slid her way in between the group, cutting their conversation short. "Fellas, let's not do this in front of Aorun, okay?" The Guild Master and the commander stared at each other, only moving away when their opponent did. Sunny closed her eyes and sighed heavily, wiping away tears. The Sylveon tried to reassure the extremely distraught Tyrunt. "Okay, sweetie - just a little guild politics. Please get to the point. When does the _Final Frontier _come into your life?"

If they didn't like the story about tag, they would kill him for what came next. Even so, the Tyrunt would rather die than be kept out of the guild. "Well, I first learned of it in the middle of the snowy winter, where snow fell even so we live next to the beach. The river froze over, and the meadow became covered by snow and the flowers died - it was still pretty, though. The... the Heroes of Time went there - to the Final Frontier. They said goodbye to Leek and me in the meadow one day and never came back."

Before any sort of objection or panicked response could erupt from his commanders, Berceus flung a wing towards the roof of the room. "_No!" _He yelled back; he didn't even need to see his subordinates to see that they wanted to react. Even Sambo's eyes burned with curiosity and surprise. "I wish to hear this information without interruption. If he really is the last one to see the Heroes of Time before... before they went to the Final Frontier, this concerns me directly."

Aorun gritted his teeth. This part wasn't easy, but at least it was short. A short memory and a shorter story. He still remembered the quietness of the meadow that he would never visit again after that frigid day.

* * *

**Two months into the Coldest Winter**

Trixie, Leek and Aorun snuggled up close to Inferno, using the heat emanating from his back to keep warm. The winter had taken a terrible turn for the worse, becoming the most frigid winter in Treasure Town's long history. Snow, of all things, somehow fell from the sky and killed all of the plants and made everyone miserable.

It had reached a temperature too cold for tag, and they could only resist the weather, now. None were more disconcerted by the cold than Trixie, whose nearly-frantic breaths could be seen as little puffs of smoke floating into the snowed-over meadow.

Hacking coughs came from Leek, who shook and shivered much more than his friend. "Leek," Aorun said nervously, "you should go home to your father and mother. They are warm and indoors. This is too much for you."

"I-i-i-it's okay, Aorun, I'm o-o-okay. Don't worry. My dad needs to help mother more than me, anyway. She's sick too." The Tepig trembled and moved in closer to the Quilava. He opened up his arm and took him in. In this extremely cold Winter, Pokémon worked together to stay warm. Even the townsfolk going about on errands kept close to one another, in fear of the effects this frigid freeze bore upon them.

"No, no one is okay," Trixie whispered. "It's too cold, too unnaturally cold. But... but we're going to fix it, right Inferno?"

This was news to the young children. They wondered what they would do to stay warm if the Heroes of Time left retirement. Maybe it wouldn't matter; Trixie just promised them that the weather would improve.

If the tear rolled down the face of any other Pokémon than the Quilava, it would have soon transformed into ice. "Wait," Aorun asked curiously, "where are you going?"

Inferno didn't typically fall into the same fits as the Marowak, but he now gritted his teeth and averted his eyes. His back burned hotter with the emotions he only barely refrained from expressing. It made the Tyrunt's hide tingle but his blood run cold. "We barely survived the Time Gear Crisis, Trixie. I'm not sure... not sure if we-"

"It doesn't matter!" Trixie cried, holding onto him desperately. "As long as we go together, as long as we go at the same time. We were never meant to leave exploring and fighting behind, even if the last two months made it seem that way." She turned towards the two shivering children, her eyes dull and sad. "Thank you, Aorun and Leek. It has been a great two months. Without you, we may have not had the strength for what comes next."

Leek shivered violently and sneezed. He looked far less plump than usual, almost emaciated. This spoke of bad health in any Pokémon, but especially in a Tepig. Tepig should never avoid eating because their fat trapped the heat within them. "W-w-w-what comes next?" Leek questioned, fighting off the harsh Winter.

With a quick sweep of her bone club, Trixie revealed two satchels, hidden under the snow. To thaw them out, she threw their straps over the Quilava. Had the two really been stashing away supplies for a trip inside the hidden meadow? Aorun gasped; this was a secret mission! "Wow!" He yelled, amazed. "We didn't mean to reveal your secret mission. We won't tell anyone, that's a promise!"

A drawn-out chuckle came from them both. "You have been too kind," Trixie told them. The two children glowed with satisfaction, pleased that the Hero of Time was pleased. "As for where we go... if we're lucky, out to the East, to a special forest. Otherwise, friends..." she knelt down and hugged them both tightly. "Otherwise, we'll be exploring the Final Frontier."

"F-F-F-Final Frontier?"

"Yes," Inferno answered calmly. "None return. Great Pokémon as we've become explore its halls forever. Out of any Mystery Dungeon one may see in this world, the Final Frontier is the end. The last gauntlet. But do not fret about us," he said, smiling. "As long as Trixie and I may explore it together, we will be cheerful and happy, as happy as you have made us with games of tag and hide-and-seek."

Aorun's stomach began to hurt, and not because he couldn't find a decent breakfast that morning. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what. When Trixie and Inferno embraced, holding on to one another needfully, it looked so unsure and made everything quiet. Snowdrops melted on the Quilava's warm head and dripped onto Trixie's helm, to the point where they were almost drenched in freezing streaks of water.

Soft as the snow, a quiet whisper came from the Marowak: "goodbye". To whom she said it, the Tyrunt did not know.

"Wait," she told Inferno. "I have one thing left to do before we leave." They were leaving _right then_?! Aorun frowned, devastated by the news.

One of the satchel's rustled like leaves in the wind while the Marowak looked through it. She stared at the object inside for a while, but finally removed it hesitantly. A red and blue stone, decorated finely with great symbols, shone in her claws. It was the key to the Hidden Land! Aorun recognized it from her stories! What came next shocked him: "here, Aorun," Trixie said, "take it. I hope it brings you strength like it did for me. You will survive the Winter, even without a home."

No words could possibly be exchanged. The object now in the Tyrunt's tiny arms was literally priceless. Leek marveled at the intricate patterns, and was even a bit jealous. Trixie huddled up close to Inferno, and they started their slow walk out of the meadow.

At the very edge, however, Inferno turned around. "If we do return," he called out without looking back. "We plan to adopt you, Aorun." The Tyrunt stepped forward hopefully, inspiration sparkling in his eyes. To have a family... to _be family_ with the Heroes of Time was a dream come true. The frigid field, now gradually becoming colder without the Quilava, was now a Winter wonderland. A true dream. He jumped forward and cried out his goodbyes as the two Heroes of Time disappeared into the bleak treeline.

* * *

Berceuse, a Guild Master both resolute and strong, kept his emotions under check, even now. Everyone in the room remained silent, unsure of what to say. Somewhere in the story, Sambo had snapped his twig in half, the remains resting on the stone floor under him. "And I presume that this inspired you to put the Final Frontier as your goal," the Chatot said callously. "Because you want to meet your almost-parents."

A grunt of agreement was all Aorun could muster up after the tough story. The knot in his stomach became worse and spread to his throat. He desired very much to cry.

"Poor thing," Pep cooed, "you must not know what the Final Frontier means." She lifted a paw and wiped off her face.

"Obviously the dolt doesn't know," Maga muttered solemnly. "Kid, the Final Frontier is explorer talk for-"

"For the hardest dungeon," Sambo finished for the Mienshao. "It is a very brave goal, Aorun, but one that may need to be downsized. Not every Pokémon can reach somewhere as dark and mysterious as the Final Frontier." He picked up one half of his twig and mulled over it. "The Heroes of Time may be the only explorers capable of completing such a thing. I think that you should choose-"

"_Never!" _Aorun cried. "I can do it, I know I can!

Sambo eyed him curiously, appreciating his stubbornness but not wholly understanding it. "Why? What makes you think that way? Are you headstrong or stupid?"

Aorun stood his ground, refusing to have his mind be changed. He allowed the Chimecho who helped him fill out the application put it down for a reason. Even when she warned him not to, he did so anyway! He had his reasons, and the guild would accept them. They simply had to! "I can do it," he screamed proudly, "because Leek went there too!"

The half-twig split apart once again, falling to the ground as Sambo bit into it way too hard. Everyone in the small room collectively winced or groaned. Only Sambo seemed capable of talking. "Explain this, Aorun."

Pep, already beyond her comfort zone, began to whimper. "P-poor thing," she choked out. Closing her eyes tightly, she rushed past Aorun and towards the door. "I can't conduct this interview any longer," Pep squeaked. "I deny Aorun for my team." The Guild Master did not attempt to stop her as she ran from the room. Flora shook her flowery head and silently walked towards the door as well.

She turned around, holding the door open and staring back at her colleagues. "Oh my gosh," Flora said. "I... oh my gosh. I deny Aorun for my team." Maga rose too. After all of his efforts, the new recruit could only watch as Sambo once again came to be his only hope.

The intimidating Mienshao wiped fresh blood off of his wound and stood over Aorun. "Naive brat. No one here has the time to be passing out reality checks. I deny this naive child for my team." He pushed the recruit out of the way and walked through the door.

Then there were two. Berceuse rolled up the Tyrunt's application. "Wrap it up," he said, "we have other interviews to conduct, and you have thoroughly rattled our panel enough for one day. When did Leek enter the Final Frontier?"

"Near the end of the season," Aorun answered frailly, his arms and legs shaking with stress. "He became very weak, tired and cold. Then, one day, I was at his home watching over him while his father went into the market to get him medicine. He was very, very cold. And he told me... he told me that I should leave - he wanted to take a very long, nice nap."

"So I left and the next day Leek was gone. His father was very sad. When I asked him what happened to Leek, he said that he went on to a better place. Like his mother did earlier in the Winter. And when I asked if that better place was the Final Frontier, he began to cry and say _yes_ over and over. Leek knew I was too weak to go to the Final Frontier, so he lied and sneaked away in the nighttime. But I'm ready now. I'm big and resourceful, like you said, Guild Master. I'm begging you, Berceuse and Sambo - _give me the chance I deserve to follow in my friend's footsteps!_"

Sambo got up and walked towards the door, passing the heaving Tyrunt on his way out. The recruit's heart stopped; this was it - the final nail in his coffin!

Instead, however, the Pangoro opened up the door and waited. "I'll think about it," he answered. "If you can find something or someone to help you along, it'll be more than just thinking, Aorun. Now go outside and breathe some fresh air and try not to think about what you've said today."

Sobbing happily, the Tyrunt slowly made his way out of the door. A surprised Joltik chirped at the large Pokémon, confused as to what just happened and why three commanders stormed out of the interview room. Aorun stopped to answer, but then changed his mind, continuing his silent walk out of the Chatot Guild.

"Sambo," Berceuse addressed as he watched the child leave, "why did you tell him that?"

"Because it's the truth."

"Is the opportunity to have a dragon type on your team too intoxicating? I respect your opinion, but there are too many shortcomings in the child; reality would tear him apart quickly, and he would never be on good terms with his fellow members."

Sambo grinned and patted the bird on the back, making him cough. "Sheesh, lighten up," he ordered. "These natural disasters and this silly _battle for our existence_ really does have us all on edge, huh? Finding someone so stupidly optimistic in Treasure Town these days is like finding a needle in a haystack."

The Chatot scowled at the commander. "Stupid optimism isn't something we need right now. We need fierce fighters and calm thinkers."

The commander returned the scowl. "Hey, remember this? _Oh Arceus help us,"_ Sambo mimicked, waving his arms about in mock-distress. "Time is stopping everywhere. Nobody can do anything against Dialga, he's too strong! Every Pokémon should hide, don't be stupid and fight back!_" _He pointed his huge paw at the Chatot. "Twelve hours later, a Marowak and a Quilava defeated the corrupt Dialga and saved the world. But you must be right. What has stupid optimism ever done for us?"

For the first time in a long while, the Guild Master smiled. "Cheeky, insubordinate... leave it to Sambo." He ruffled his feathers. "That's quite enough moping, everyone! Maya, Allow the Joltik to enter!" The Chimecho peeked into the room and nodded.

* * *

"Sheesh, I've really done it," the Tyrunt chuckled nervously between sobs as he walked out of the Chatot Guild. "I cried in front of the Guild Master, Leek. I-I'll never live it down - that Joltik saw me crying and everything. But... but I think I did it. I have a real chance of joining the Chatot Guild and finding you." Various recruits, anxious and anticipating their own interviews, looked over to the edge of the hill where the Tyrunt now sat.

The wide expanse of the green Spring, so much warmer than the harsh Winter seasons ago, rolled on infinitely. The Tyrunt marveled at it all; the beautiful forests green and lush; the main river, leading to a secret cave filled with gems, now a sacred relic from the Heroes of Time; a mountain range, with many caves to test the explorer's skill; the rolling plains, filled with small intrigues hidden out of sight by hills and secret dungeons. As a guild member, he would be required to taste in all the mystery of this world.

"Leek... I don't understand the world we live in. Novo confuses me, and I don't think it will ever be different for me. But, with every day, I grow stronger! I grow older! A step closer to making sense of it all!" All the recruits murmured and pointed at the Tyrunt muttering to himself. Aorun didn't care. "Tall, ferocious, and equipped with these sharp teeth of mine, I'll cut a path to you! Everyone left me behind, but now is my chance! To join you all... on the Final Frontier!"

* * *

**AmorphousExplorer presents:**

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Winters and Red Passions**


	2. The Search for New Friends Begins!

"Time to begin my search for an ally!" Aorun announced to himself, bouncing about the small clearing that sat at the base of the Chatot Guild. There weren't many souls to be found, which confused the Tyrunt; It was very uncharacteristic for Pokémon to say no to a good Spring breeze and the sweet smell of flowers. Even the meadow near the river had regrown its plant life in this powerful Spring season - although Aorun couldn't yet bring himself to visit it.

There was, however, a single Mightyena guarding the road to unknown lands. Shabby the Mightyena stood by the main entrance into Treasure Town every day. He kept bad Pokémon out and insisted that good citizens stay inside the safe boundaries of the town. The Tyrunt watched him from a distance, observing curiously the way he twitched and whined.

Nonetheless, Shabby was a strong guard - perfect for impressing Sambo! And Aorun considered him a good friend_._ "Shabby!" Aorun called out, running towards him. The Mightyena jumped and turned around frantically, his breathing erratic and eyes wild. "Shabby, I need to-"

"Oh thank Arceus you're here!" The Mightyena shouted. His voice had become shrill with desperation and insane with need. "Please, lower your head!" The Tyrunt cocked his head to the side to show that he didn't quite follow. "_Put your chinny-chin-chin to the ground, Aorun!" _

This would be a good way to start on Shabby's good side! Smiling, Aorun complied and put his chin the ground. He withheld all his questions, even when the Mightyena started to scrape his back over the top of his head.

The Tyrunt felt his teeth grate against each other as Shabby dug his back into the spikes on his head. "Oh, by every Legendary, that feels good. _Oh, yeah._" He sighed contentedly and fell to the ground, content with the scratching session. From his spot on the dirt floor, the Mightyena rolled his eyes. "Well, talk about one tick killing another, huh? What is it this time?"

Shabby always called him a tick, so he let the comment pass harmlessly. "Do you have a tick problem?" Aorun asked.

"What? That's none of your business!" Shabby retorted.

"It really does smell like it." The Mightyena rolled back to his feet, appalled by the harsh honesty coming from the Tyrunt. It was completely true, and they both knew it; Shabby's avoidance of rivers and bodies of water really helped him earn his name. The scent of unwashed fur wafted from the Mightyena's unruly coat. Shabby had been out hunting in the nearby forest recently as well, the smell of fresh game trapped in his uncleaned claws.

He resumed his original place at the town's exit. "Okay, so I do," he muttered begrudgingly. "What's it to you, anyway?"

"If you slowly enter the water, the ticks will slowly climb up your body until they must jump off. If you do it too fast, though, they'll simply go under with you-"

"I'm not entering the _stinking_ river!" Shabby groaned. Aorun stifled a few chuckles about his interesting choice of words. "I mean, not that I doubt you know every damned thing about ticks; you've latched on to this town like nothing else. I keep expecting to just see you keel over, but you continue to come by every day... someone ought to submerge the town slowly and get rid of you!"

They both laughed heartily. Sambo was right about getting fresh air and clearing his mind. The day, besides its harsh beginning, was now very lighthearted. Other than ticks, Shabby was in a fantastic mood. "But, seriously kiddo, I'm glad to see you're still alive and kicking. What can I do for you? You paid me earlier this month, and you've never been one to socialize."

Determined and inspired by the kind words, the Tyrunt used the pleased tingling in his hide to carry him through the proposal. "S-Shabby, I applied to the Chatot Guild today!" He said excitedly.

"Fantastic!" Shabby barked. Delicious Caterpie - it was definitely lingering on the Mightyena's breath. Learning how to hunt for food posed the greatest learning curve Aorun ever experienced. Two years ago, when he first began to bribe Shabby for the chance to go out and hunt, he caught absolutely nothing. Only after taking cues from what Shabby himself hunted could he find the easiest game.

Eventually he discovered the reasoning and strategy behind each quarry. For example: the warm temperature of this Spring day would put the Caterpie under the shade of rocks. Worried more with flying Pokémon than ground predators, even a wary Caterpie soon found itself caught in a quiet Mightyena's claws or stealthy Tyrunt's jaw. Annoyed by the Tyrunt's sniffing, Shabby blew cold air at Aorun's nose. "Wow, gee wiz, I ate green worm! Why would you care? You're set up for life, kid!"

"No, not yet," Aorun told him slowly. "I... I need someone to help me. Commander Sambo says I need someone else to join with me."

It hurt the Mightyena to do it, but he shook his disheveled head and flopped his ears back. "Oh, I'm sorry, kiddo... Sambo and I aren't on good terms. He sleeps one door down from me in the Chatot Guild, and he can't stand the_ 'terrible stench'_, you see. He'd turn me down in a heartbeat, since we bicker about it all the time... like an old couple or something."

The Tyrunt hung his head, disappointed but understanding. "Oh, I see," Aorun muttered. "Don't worry about it." He turned around, eager to resume his search, when he realized he almost forgot something. "If I don't find anyone, I'm going out hunting later today," the Tyrunt told Shabby solemnly.

"Okay pal," Shabby said, trying to sound comforting. His scratchy, silly voice didn't help this effort. "Remember: if an exploration team finds you, you used the secret path on the beach. And don't go out farther than the lighter trees. Or else you'll be in the Proxima Forest Mystery Dungeon. That's no good, almost-explorer!" Aorun smiled bleakly and took his leave of the Mightyena before he needed to scratch his back again.

With Shabby no longer a viable option, Aorun racked his brain to find the most logical follow-up. It didn't take his mind long to conjure up one: Caretaker Momala! His old Caretaker would surely support his entrance into the guild. His hope renewed, he dashed away from the bottom of the Chatot Guild's hill and towards town.

* * *

Even so the Winter had passed by a long time ago, Pokémon still traveled together in groups. In the spread-out layout of Treasure Town, where buildings haphazardly dotted the landscape, Aorun saw many Pokémon milling about lazily from building to building. They huddled close together, talking and interacting with other groups as they went about the dirt paths.

Every time he saw the townsfolk walking about, he couldn't avoid recalling Treasure Town's silliest tradition; Sometimes, in really weird situations, a small ritual took place in Treasure Town: the gathering.

One extremely icy day, a group of Pokémon joined up with another for more warmth. Without consciously noticing, this larger group grabbed another group, and so on. Eventually, half of Treasure Town walked about town in a giant mob, until one wise Pokémon realized what was going on and stopped it. Ever since, it had been Treasure Town tradition to repeat this silly occurrence. Treasure Town humor was simply confounding.

As a Plusle and Minun skipped over and snuggled up to a pair of differently colored Nidoran, Aorun hoped that the gathering did not start. He had things to do.

Right now, the thing to do was to knock on Caretaker Momala's beautifully painted door. Even the tiniest of mistakes could scratch the door's precious rainbow of colors. Auron graciously tapped on the door of the petite stone house and waited for an answer.

A gentle Delcatty swung open the door, a warm smile on her face. Seeing the Tyrunt wiped it straight off. Replacing it was stern surprise.

"I'm sorry but I have no food for you, Aorun," Caretaker Momala stammered hastily. She closed her eyes and waited for the Tyrunt to leave, but all the young child did was stare oddly at her.

"I'm not here for food... I wanted to talk to you about something."

This did not relieve the Delcatty, but she at least regarded him after their long time apart. "I... wow. Aorun, how long has it been? Two years? Your hide is very healthy and you're well fed. Did you find a good home to take care of you?" The Caretaker asked in her normal, soothing tone.

The Tyrunt shook his head. "No, Caretaker Momala. I took good care of myself like you told me to. All by myself, I should mention!" After all this time away from her, Aorun felt very proud when he relayed how well off he was. "Nobody helped me very much or gave me free food; I did almost everything by myself, no help necessary-"

"Are you here to berate me for closing down the orphanage?" The Delcatty suddenly hissed. Aorun stood back, agape at the uninvited hostility. For the second time in just as many minutes, Caretaker Momala became very defensive of her home and of herself. "I hadn't the resources to keep it open nor money to feed any of you for very long. It was just a silly passing kindness that I couldn't upkeep. Did you think I broke my promise to you all on purpose?"

"N-no," Aorun whimpered, not liking his Caretaker's chastising tone. "And I wouldn't call six years a _passing kindness_. You did a great job with me."

"Do you live with the other orphans in the abandoned building?" Caretaker Momala asked suspiciously. "Is this a trick?" Aorun stared at her wordlessly, not knowing how to respond to his Caretaker anymore. If she kept up the mean-spirited words, it would make him cry; Aorun was a good Tyrunt while he lived at her big orphanage on the Bluff. "I swear to you,_ if you don't stop harassing my child when she goes into town, you'll all be in huge trouble!_"

That did it. Aorun heated up with shame and turned his back to the Caretaker. Tears stung his eyes and he sniffled softly. Where were these tears hiding during his interview? What a silly, childish Pokémon he was - always sobbing away when the Caretaker yelled at him. She melted his composure with the heat of a Moltres. "Okay, okay now. Don't cry," the Delcatty cooed. "I lost my head, that was very bad. What do you need, sweetie?"

Not that it mattered anymore; a small Skitty emerged from the house and hid behind her mother. "Mama, who's this Pokémon?" She squeaked shyly. "Is he one of the bullies? Tell him off, mama, I don't want my lunch stolen again." Sambo wouldn't knowingly let a nurturing mother onto his team. As the Delcatty worked to calm him down, however, he knew that he couldn't stand by idly after what he heard.

"Who's bullying your daughter, Caretaker Momala?" He mumbled as the Caretaker wiped his tears away.

She only shook her head gently. "The other orphans formed a gang after the orphanage closed down, Aorun." That much he knew already. He missed his old friends and the halls of his home, but being abandoned made them all very violent. Aorun didn't like being around it, just one of many reasons he lived on his own. "They are threatening my poor daughter whenever she goes into town. Don't worry about it though, okay? I'm sorry for being so angry, but I must protect my child."

Determined, the Tyrunt broke out of the Delcatty's pawing and stood tall. "I'll speak with them," he said resolutely. "They'll listen to me, I think."

"Really, big creature?!" The Skitty wailed happily, coming out from under her mother's legs. "Thank you _so-oo-o _much! I'll love you forever and ever if you do - we'll become partners for life!"

Stunned by the allegation, the Tyrunt laughed awkwardly. "You're kind of not the partner I'm looking for, hehe..." he turned to his Caretaker and put on a grim, tough face. "Don't worry, Caretaker Momala, that gang won't be bullying your daughter once I'm done."

"Oh, pray don't be rash!" She pleaded. "Run at the first sign of danger, sweetie - and tell them that I am still... still very sorry. If I could repair the place, I would." The Skitty's limited attention finally ran out, and she started to tug on her mother's tail. The Delcatty smiled at the Tyrunt, ready to close her rainbow door.

It pained him to tack on his next request, but this was an opportunity he couldn't waste. "If I do this, do you think that you could send a recommendation to the Chatot Guild?"

The Delcatty agreed happily. "Of course, Aorun. You were always so decently mannered. If you handle this situation maturely, I'll be more than ready to send in a quick note. Good bye, Aorun - we'll have to talk again soon, okay? Stay safe." And with that, a two-year reunion ended suddenly with the shutting of Caretaker Momala's rainbow door.

Now he was stuck running an errand! "At least," he told himself proudly, "it's a very noble deed, indeed. And... and maybe one of my old friends will want to join the Chatot Guild with me!" Before any of this reached its fruition, however, the Tyrunt knew he had another responsibility: visiting Leek's father. It wasn't far from here, and not stopping by would be cruel. The Skitty was safe for now, anyway. Shining a chipper smile at the warm fields of Treasure Town, he set off towards Leek's old, distant red house.

* * *

It worried the Tyrunt to see that the door to the house was wide open. "Leek's father?" He called out curiously. Without Leek or his mom helping keep up the place, the warm red home had slowly fallen into disrepair. Rusty pots hung from a rusty rack near the fireplace. A cauldron, green and unusable, rotted away above charred wood.

Aorun heard the heavy groans coming from the Pignite, locked away in Leek's decrepit bedroom. Aorun looked inside and saw the Pokémon lying on Leek's mat, his eyes puffy and red. "Oh, are you in his room again? You know that just makes you upset..."

"Aorun," the father grumbled. "How painful it is, to send your children off to explore..."

"Yes," Aorun agreed readily. "But he's happy on the Final Frontier. I think staying in this room makes you sick, though."

The Pignite stood up and started to tidy up the room. He could organize the hay-filled mat as much as he wanted; the cracks in the wall and moldy corners were there to stay. "In the living room, all the pots and pans remind me of my love's love for cooking. The mat in my room smells like her still. T-this room is starting to go back to normal, though!" He said anxiously, an unsure smile on his face. "C-can you still smell Leek in here, Aorun?"

Leek never smelt like old mold and rotting home. "No," Aorun said sadly. "I can't, sir." When was the last time the Pignite went into town? The Tyrunt determined from his weary steps and exhausted movements that he hadn't found the strength to do so. The sticks Aorun gave him for a cooking fire laid untouched in the corner; the Pignite was following in Leek's footsteps, slowly becoming emaciated and sick.

"It's s-spring," he muttered. "Winter will be back soon. The snow shall remind me of them. I'm scared." Auron was sure that the muttering wasn't meant for him. Each day he expected progress from the Pignite, but his sadness proved to be painfully chronic. Almost three seasons after that tough Winter, where his wife and son set out for the Final Frontier, he still couldn't be fully happy for them. In fact, Aorun considered it a little selfish. "What are you doing here, Aorun?"

"I wanted to check up on you," Aorun answered. "And I have great news: I've applied to the Chatot Guild, and I'm very close to acceptance from the great Commander Sambo!"

"_That's not great at all!" _The Pignite screamed madly. He jumped at the Tyrunt and pinned him down to the ground. "_Do you think I've the strength to send another child away exploring? Please, don't go willingly into that unknown territory - Arceus, stop yourself, think of Leek-"_

_"Stop, stop!" _Aorun implored, trying to push the Pignite off of him. It was becoming hard to breathe. "Not the Final Frontier, sir - just normal dungeons and other places!" He coughed out desperately. "I'll be back to visit all the time, don't worry about it!" This relaxed the Pignite slightly. He eased his weight off of the smaller Tyrunt and went to sit down on Leek's mat.

He held his paws over his eyes, trying to block everything out. "It's all the same," he blubbered pathetically. "Those dungeons will eat you right up. It's all their fault the Winters got so cold. Damned nature... I can't take the upcoming winter!" The Pignite realized dreadfully. "I... I want to end it all. It would be so easy... to simply end my suffering before the Winter does," he pondered hopefully. He looked to see what the child thought of this.

The Tryunt stared back at him silently. "What do you mean?"

The wall groaned and little cracks shot through its weakened red stone as the Pignite leaned against it. A small toy ball - an old favorite of Leek's - took up all the Pignite's attention. He sniffed at it curiously. "I too can enter the Final Frontier and find my wife and child. I know the way, now."

"_Really?" _Aorun cried out happily. This was very wonderful news! "Wow!"

An unsure stare came from the depressed Pignite. "Do you think so? Do you really think I should?"

"Jump at it the first chance you get!" Aorun encouraged wholeheartedly. "I think this is great. It will be exactly what you want, and you don't need to worry about me one bit. C-congratulations! I can't believe you're going to the Final Frontier..."

"Yeah.. you're right! I'll go there, the first chance I get." The Pignite ran his hands across the shiny red ball. "My neighbors want to stop me, though. They never comprehended what we know to be real..."

"Go out at night! If you go to the river, they won't see you leaving!" The tree line near the river would be perfect for staying out of sight. The Pignite was insanely grateful. He ran over and gave the Tyrunt a very tight hug.

He refused to let go. "_Thank you,"_ he sobbed. "_Thank you for giving me the strength I need to carry out this mission!" _The Pignite began to run about frantically, tidying things up with a renewed effort. "I h-have some preparations to make. I'll say bye to you before I run off, okay?"

The Tyrunt smiled proudly. "I'm glad to have helped you!" The news made Aorun very confident. Grinning widely and burning with zealous feelings for both the guild and the departure of Leek's father, he skipped out of the house and forged on, ready to confront the orphan gang.


	3. A Friend Hidden in the Dark

Nothing in his simple life ever gave Aorun reason enough to return to the pleasant Delcatty Orphanage near the Bluff. Now a grumpy, weather-beaten warehouse of orphans, stolen goods and ruined kindred feelings. Even as he tried to see the place from the perspective outside of a resident, Aorun's heated up with indignation.

It was true that he left it behind and never looked back, but Aorun couldn't prevent the sensation of disenfranchisement from crawling into him. Shouldn't he have a say in whether or not the other orphans allowed the pleasant lawn outside to turn yellow? Was it rightful for him to recommend that they remove the boards on the windows?

He remembered playing kick-ball and participating in childish games in the condemned home. It consisted of one large hall, with rows of beds separated by a satisfyingly warm carpet. The carpet, which was very wide and red, made for a perfect kick-ball field. Aorun's favorite game personally was the nudge-match, which involved trying to be the last one standing on the carpet. Though fun and peaceful in his head, it was disorienting to think of this rendition of the Delcatty Orphanage as his home.

Oran berries were a cheap delicacy in Treasure Town. One other value of these berries was their paint-like properties. If one crushed the small blue fruits and smeared them on a wooden wall, the impression would remain clear for weeks before smudging. One orphan had taken the time to write _STAY OUT - NO ADULTS ALLOWED _right above the large double-doors of the orphanage. The reddish berry juice trickled down from the haphazardly made letters.

Since Aorun knew he wasn't an adult, he disregarded the warning and attempted to open the door. How it angered him to push against it and feel it smack against a barricade on the other side. "_What?_!" He cried out angrily. "You can't do that," the Tryunt argued, "you don't get to choose to block the door!" Growling menacingly, the Tyrunt stalked away and prepared to throw his weight into the stupid barricade.

_Handle it maturely_, Caretaker Momala had told him. If he bashed down the door and it caused a raucous, and that in turn started a fight between him and his former family... the Tyrunt backed away from the door and did his best to think clearly. He snorted out his incredulity and the salty sea breeze wafting up from the ocean several hundred feet below the Bluff.

Aoron's head snapped up excitedly. Of course - it was so obvious! The supply room had an entrance on the side of the building and led into a dark room under the Delcatty Orphanage. With the front door blocked off, the Tyrunt would bet his teeth that the gang created a stairway from one to the other. Content with his wit, the Tyrunt ran to the angled doors leading to the supply room.

The doors made of brass and wood were extremely heavy. Pressure pushed down on his jaw as he wrenched it a point where his head fitted through the gap. He squirmed and struggled until his entire body followed.

The place wasn't as bountiful nor as sweet-smelling as Aorun wished to remember it. Without the delicious food - more essential to the orphans than a roof or a bed - the place had turned into a small labyrinth of brown rotted shelves and dusty jars. It was too dark to see, and the Tyrunt began to itch with nervous anticipation.

An extremely dull candlelight, hidden behind some short shelves once stocked with jelly, reared its orange body just over the corner of some flour bags. "H-hello?" Aorun asked quietly, almost hoping that an answer didn't return.

"...Who... Aorun?" A raspy, exhausted voice sighed. Aorun froze, not sure how to respond. Something shifted about near the cold stone wall for a few moments, and then stopped. "Another ghost," the Pokémon reasoned casually, "for the ravaged supply shed and the Charmander arrested therein."

_Charmander?!_ A wide, excited grin shot across Aorun's large jaw. It quickly became a full-on, toothy, beaming smile. He could only recall one Charmander that sounded so disinterested and interesting at the same time! "Austere! It's me, it's me!" Aorun cried gleefully as he nearly broke right through the shelves to reach him.

What he saw wiped the grin off of his face. The poor Charmander leaned against the freezing wall and the flour bags, unable to support his weight. His skin had wilted into a very pale shade of orange, and his tail flickered weakly; the lack of clean air in the supply room was snuffing his life's flame. Austere grinned frailly at him. "Oh, Aorun... what brings you down here?"

"_Why are you down here?"_ The Tyrunt choked out frantically. "This will make you sick!" The distant Pokémon somehow wormed his way into Aorun's past life at the Delcatty Orphanage. Somehow, with very few words exchanged, the awkward Charmander and rambunctious Tyrunt gravitated towards one another. They spent much time together in the halls of the orphanage, and those memories mingled with this sight put butterflies in the Tyrunt's stomach.

Bleak as his tail was, Aorun could still smell the gas keeping it alight. "How strange all of this is. Two years have gone by, yet the way you try and take care of me speaks like we're both close friends again." A firm grimace and shaky arms pushed Austere into an upright position. "Between you, the Pokémon who perished in the Winter and Caretaker Momala... I missed you the most."

"I-I've missed-"

"Don't be silly," Austere told him. "You've been too busy surviving by yourself to miss me. It's okay, please stop worrying over me out of guilt. It's just how things turned out for the two of us." Before Aorun could object to the wild accusation, the Charmander continued. "What were you asking? How I got down here?"

"Yes! We have to get you out of here before you..."

Austere shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. They would bring me back against my will, and the punishment would worsen considerably. As of right now, I'm only pleased to be punished in a very controlled manner. Butch cares about me just enough to not let me suffocate. He leads the _Child Brigade _now, by the way. It's in his control, not yours."

Butch was always dominant in kick-ball and nudge-matches. The Meowth was aggressive and determined; compared to him, everyone else didn't put in the harsh tactics to win. It didn't surprise Aorun that he accepted the role of leader - or dictator, based on this terrible punishment - and that he chose such a preposterous name for his gang. "Why did he throw you down here?"

"They're planning on kidnapping Caretaker Momala's child," Austere said. "We all know her mother doesn't have enough money nor food to make it a worthwhile ransom, though. Besides these material issues, the plan makes most of us sick to our stomachs. This is far too serious for children, Aorun."

The Tyrunt wondered what Austere would think about his application to the Chatot Guild, but questions as petty as those drowned in his inspired ferocity. It was teeth-chattering and bone-chilling to think of committing such a crime. "Butch... he just wants..." Aorun closed his eyes, trying to relax himself.

"Always on the mark, like old times," Austere complimented. "Butch is very vengeful. So much so that my protesting landed me in the supply room. A few hours at a time I rot, and then he'll let me up and ask if I changed my mind. But... it feels strangely good to have my tail so dim. It really inebriates me, makes me distant from most of my troubles. Usually that takes an active effort," the Charmander wheezed painfully - his attempt at a chuckle.

Aorun didn't find it funny. Not at all. "Stop it, Austere. I'm getting you out of here and stopping this madness." Practicing a lot of caution in the dark room, the Tryunt offered his head as a crutch for the enervated Pokémon.

It tore apart the Tyrunt's nerves to see his friend inch away from his lowered head. "No, no. After Butch comes by again, that would be a better chance. And it gives me just a bit longer in this room..." he reached his claws up slowly and rested them on the Tyrunt's head. "It really is you... how uplifting. I apologize if my lingering here discomforts you."

"It does... but you're right," Aorun admitted begrudgingly. If it made his friend happy, he would allow this craziness to go on a bit longer.

"Tell me," Austere demanded, "tell me about your two years outside of the orphanage. I worry about you very often."

Aorun told him everything. He started with abandoning the Delcatty Orphanage after a row with the other Pokémon about their Caretaker. He followed that with a description of his uncomfortable nights on the beach, an account of how he went from begging Shabby for part of his kills to paying him to hunt on his own, and an explanation of how each day he spent was filled with grand thoughts of being old enough to join the Chatot Guild. Time dragged on as Aorun spilled out every emotional happening during the Winter, giving it nearly word for word as he had expressed it to the guild.

At the end of his long, long story, however, nothing piqued Austere's interest more than the Final Frontier. In fact, the Charmander's face became very gaunt when the Tyrunt laid out the details of how the Heroes of Time and Leek sneaked away, one after another, into its mysterious caves. "Oh, Aorun," the Charmander sighed, "if I stayed in here overnight, do you think I would _die_?"

What kind of question was that?! "Yes, you would!" Aorun shouted, appalled.

"So other Pokémon and I... we can die. But everyone who left or disappeared from your life has simply gone on to the Final Frontier? If I told you right now that this was my passage into the _Final Frontier_, what would you think?"

His eyes widened with surprise. "Is... is it?"

Austere sighed heavily. "I... it feels great to hear your voice again, Aorun." It was only a passing sensation, but the pale Charmander looked as if he was on the verge of telling the Tyrunt something very groundbreaking. He looked paler than before, and his tail sputtered threateningly. "They'll be here... soon. You should get to-"

"_Get to what?!" _A scratchy voice cried out gleefully. Aorun twisted around to find Butch smiling at him smugly. "Hiding? I'm afraid it's a little late for that, scab!" The gold coin atop his forehead gleamed and reflected the orange cover of a book. "Talking to a scab, Austere?_ Bad Charmander, very bad_!" He cooed mockingly. "And to think I was going to give you back your silly book."

The Charmander's bleak eyes lit up desperately, and his legs scrabbled out as he tried to get on his feet. A pathetic _plop_ echoed in the supply room when he plopped down. "Butch, let's not joke about the book. You said that my punishment was to have reasonable limits. You're going past those if you lay a hand on my book."

"_Chapter one_," Butch read aloud, greatly amused. "_Fairy type skills - reasoning and origin_. How did you even come to write this garbage? I knew it was a mistake to let you use _my_ resources to steal books."

"Butch," Austere grunted.

"Oh, wait!" Butch cackled loudly, snapping the book shut. "Methinks someone wishes he was a fairy type! Aw, Austere, are you a Clefairy in a Charmander's body? I mean, it's no surprise you would want a new type; you can barely keep that flame of yours lit!" A furious scowl took over Butch's bemused smirk. Crying out, he flung the book into the Charmander's nose.

Instead of covering his nose after the painful _smack_, he coveted his orange book. "Butch!" Austere hissed frantically, "you'll ruin the binding like that!" In an unsettling display of his poor condition, hardly any blood fell from the cut now lining his cheek. Further infuriated by the reprimand, Butch came forward, lifting his sharp claws.

Aorun intercepted the Meowth, blocking him from reaching the weakened Pokémon. "_Stay back!" _The Tyrunt roared. "We b-both know who would win in a fair fight, Butch..."

"Who said this fight was_ fair_?" Butch growled. Two years away from the orphanage had racked his memory; the Plusle and the Minun he had seen earlier with their Nidoran friends... they were part of the Child Brigade.

The two duos gave their mocking greetings to the cornered Tyrunt. "Hey there!" The Plusle giggled. "That was such a heartwarming conversation you had with the Liar. Or in your stupid scab-speak, I'm sure you call her a _Caretaker_. You really let yourself go, Aorun. We followed you all the way here - we set you up!"

In order to moderate this aggressive tone, the Minun came forward shyly. "Aorun... you should have known better. The Liar forsook the blood of many members for the fur of her single daughter. We must end the Liar."

Seeing his most childish days tainted by the Meowth's wrath sickened Aorun. "Butch, you've gone crazy! _The Liar? Forsook? _This is like a crazy cult!"

"_She said she loved us!_" The blue Nidoran screamed. "Yet_ gave up on us the moment the money and food ran out - when we needed her most!" _

"Time was being torn apart! Ferals were breaking loose and blocking off markets," Austere coughed out.

Butch swung out his left paw and smashed part of the shelf next to him into splinters. "_The Heroes of Time fixed everything - all she had to do was wait!" _

"There was no way Caretaker Momala could have possibly known that," the Charmander reasoned fervently. "You need to calm down, and think it over again. What would you do? Try to provide for thirty children and watch your own daughter share in their hunger, or do what you knew would work? It was a weak decision that she made, but you can't act like it's strange. You're absolutely fanatical for her, and it's blinding you."

"_Shut up." _Butch trembled, ready to strike. "I refuse to calm down and give Aorun what he wants. Do you think I'm manipulative, scab?" The Meowth asked, directing his attention to the determined Tyrunt. "At least I didn't talk that Pignite into going belly-up in the river tonight." His cohorts nodded with grave agreement. "Why'd you do it? For fun? At least my motive for kidnapping is righteous, _murderer_."

Austere turned his gaze to the shocked Tyrunt. _"No, he's going to the Final Frontier!" _Aorun shrieked desperately. A wince came from the partner at his side.

The Charmander groaned painfully and wrenched himself to his feet. Cold, clammy orange skin pressed into the Tyrunt. "Arceus, Aorun," he whispered, "unless you're willing to bet the Pignite's life and our own on that, we need to leave somehow."

"He really is-"

"Ask yourself if you honestly think he is capable."

The mere fact that Austere, so calm and collected, considered the Pignite to be in danger... Aorun's mind whirled as he tried to find an escape route. But he had been promised a fight; the only chance the two friends had was one of complete surprise. And the only thing surprising enough, Aorun found, was some of the odder things he learned from the Heroes of Time - things he neglected to tell the commanders at the Chatot Guild. Strategies for 'tag' he presently found to be useful for more than just a child's game.

The move was intended to be a way to block off a running Pokémon's path, but the Tyrunt moved past that use. Crying out as loud as he could, the raging Tyrunt slammed his right foot into the ground and focused intensely. The earth beneath him vibrated, and the effort was so painful tears began to well in his eyes. It hurt so bad, but he could not stop now.

"Look, he's throwing a fit!" The pink Nidoran laughed. "What an idiot!_" _Aorun knew that he wouldn't receive the time he needed without help.

Right before the orphans attacked, Austere called out as loud as his weak voice would permit. Butch stopped and eyes the Charmander curiously. "You're out of options, Austere. If you keep resisting me like this, kidnapping won't be the extent of my crimes."_  
_

"Do you hear that?" Austere questioned.

"What? There's nothing here but Aorun's crying."

"It's the sound of you coming closer than ever to being an adult."

Now was the time to commit! His leg pulsated with jarring force as he broke through the final barrier blocking him from his goal. He shattered it with an enraged roar. Pieces of the supply room's ground flung up, smacking the leading members of the Child Brigade. Butch tried to call out an order to his panicking allies, but a small slab of hard ground flung into his face, knocking him flat. "_Da-aa-mn it! __Kill them both!" _He screamed to Pokémon who were unable to gain their bearings. "_Kill them before they escape!" _

His attack kicked up just enough dust for the disoriented Tyrunt and suffocating Charmander to limp their way past their foes and to the angled door. Tears welled in Aorun's eyes; there went his chance to settle this issue peacefully. Once again, his chance had been thwarted. Trying not to sob out of frustration, the Tyrunt pushed the doors open and led his friend back into fresh air.

No. There was no reason to cry. Saving Austere from that torture was, in the end, very much worth giving up his Caretaker's recommendation.


	4. A World-Altering Earthquake

**A month into the Coldest Winter**

"Okay, Trixie," Inferno commanded, "that's enough! Let him stop!" In the midst of blinding, burning pain, all Aorun could do was sob and nod pathetically as his leg threatened to tear away from his body. Somewhere behind him, Leek cooed out sympathetically with a high-pitched noise that racked the Tyrunt's aching head.

Yet the Marowak looked on calmly, not willing to relent. Fierce determination glittered in her eyes, lighting up the shadowy holes in her helmet. "No, hold it, Aorun!" Trixie demanded enthusiastically. "Just a little bit more. Can't you feel it?!" The pulsating power coming from the lower half of his body, that tore apart his right leg and melted the snow beneath him? Aorun felt that misery very well, and could easily describe each worsening second in great detail. "Now... let it out!"

A hoarse squeal emitted from the Tyrunt's maw, pushing the snow into the air. The mounds of white, cold powder floated about as if they were patiently awaiting Aorun's next move. New agony superseded the pain in his leg as his lungs slowly deflated from his extended roar. "Now adjust the snow using the pitch of your shout!" Trixie told him.

As his pained wail turned into a desperate wheeze, Aorun found that he was actually quite calm. He deepened the last reserves of his air and marveled at how the snow smacked back into the ground as his vision went black. Tingling cold mixed with the shocking feeling of empty lungs. If this was what drowning felt like, Aorun could understand why Shabby hated rivers so much.

A warm foot planted itself next to his head and a gentle paw checked his condition. "Well, there it is." Inferno's voice seemed like it was miles away. "The Dragon's Rage."

"_What were you two trying to do?!_" Leek shouted shrilly. "That was so bad-looking it made _me_ cry! There's no way Aorun can use that in a game of tag..."

"Right. He needs more practice," the Quilava concluded. "And _you_ needed to stop much earlier, Trixie," he said heatedly. "If he held it in for just a few more seconds, the tendons in his leg would've snapped."

The snowed-over meadow finally showed itself again in the Tyrunt's groggy sight. No sensation came from his right leg, but he could hear it moving around. Focusing on that noise, he wrenched himself back on his feet again. "My t-tendons?" Aorun whimpered. "Why would you have me do something so dangerous? I've never felt that much pain before - not even hunger could compare to it."

Trixie patted the child's head softly. "It's your own fault," she said. Everyone in the meadow turned to her, bewildered by the response. "I simply wanted to see if you could tap into your Dragon Rage. You kept going, however, so I simply gave you encouragement and told you what needed to be done." She picked up a blue book from the ground and flipped through its pages curiously. "It probably won't surprise you to hear this, Aorun, but not many dragon types like to tap into their Dragon Rage. It's fairly ancient and dangerous."

The Quilava nodded. "Dialga's Roar of Time is generated through its Dragon Rage," he added. "Provided that the dragon type has enough power to not kill itself in the process, its Dragon Rage can alter many elemental types - in Dialga and Palkia's case, even time and space may be altered. They have to be careful, though; the consequence for overextending their limits is usually death." Aorun's eyes widened with horror. "Or so the books said," he tried to add in order to comfort the scared Tyrunt.

They two worked off of each other, providing more and more background information to the rattled Tyrunt. "The last and only non-Legendary Pokémon Inferno and I fought who used it was-"

"They don't need to hear about him," Inferno interrupted. But at the mention of a tale that he had not yet heard about the Heroes of Time, Aorun couldn't miss the opportunity.

"Who?" He asked anxiously. "It's okay, Leek and I can stomach it!"

The Marowak shook her head sadly. "No, it's better if I listen to Inferno for a change." She adjusted her stern posture and turned to Leek excitedly. "Or maybe, we could give a little more attention to our fire-breather over here!" Pleased by Trixie's compliment, Leek breathed in deeply and shot out small tufts of bright fire. A small puddle of melted snow made Leek's paws soggy. If he stayed in that freezing puddle, he was going to get sick. The Tyrunt looked on jealously at first; Leek didn't sob when he breathed fire. But then a sadder feeling came to him.

"Oh," Leek grunted guiltily. "I'm sorry, Aorun. I didn't mean to make it look so easy."

"It's not that - or at least, it isn't that anymore," Aorun answered. "Your fire reminds me of someone."

"Who?"

"Just someone I used to know from my orphanage," Aorun replied slowly. "He's probably gone his own way and forgot about me by now..."

* * *

"I don't think Aorun's listening," Austere told the panicking mightyena. "He has started daydreaming."

Shabby shook and jumped about the Tyrunt, trying to grab his attention. Aorun cleared his head and tried his best to pay attention. Using his Dragon Rage had really put him out of sorts. A small black tick leaped from one ear to the other as the Mightyena leaned in curiously. He checked to see if Aorun was paying attention to him now._  
_

Once he was sure, Shabby began to yell again. "_You idiot!" _He howled frantically. "_What were you thinking - the Pignite - why would you - aiyee!" _Caught between his panic, the ticks biting away at his skin and the falling sun, Shabby started a clumsy sprint into Treasure Town. He shook about and reared furiously as he stumbled his way towards the river. "_Stay, both of you! Stay!" _

Aorun turned angrily to the Charmander. "_You told him?!" _The Tyrunt cried out angrily.

"I thought that you were of agreement," Austere replied. "You told me to tell him about the Pignite."

_"When?"_

"...No, you actually didn't tell me to," Austere admitted. "But you told me about Shabby while we were in the supply room, so I went to fetch him before you escaped from your stupor." It hurt Aorun to wake up from his tired daze and find Austere going behind his back like this. "I made the decision that I considered would be best for you. I hope this is fine."

_"You just ruined everything!" _Aorun screamed. "T-they'll never... they'll never let me into the guild after this. I t-thought that Leek's father was telling the truth about the Final Frontier... _why couldn't you just tell one of his_ _neighbors_? Now Shabby will tell S-Sambo and h-h-he won't..."

Exposed to clean air, the Charmander's skin and tail were slowly returning to their normal vitality. Even so, his eyes expressed only a fraction of the guilt Aorun knew he was dealing with. He averted his eyes and started to fiddle around with his orange book. The pages turned slowly and nicely under the careful care from his orange claws. "I'm sorry, Aorun," Austere muttered nervously. "We were both so sick... I was afraid that if we stopped, we wouldn't be able to move again."

Austere leaned back as Aorun moved in close with a deadly snarl that revealed his sharp teeth. "I... was**_ fine_**." This was the end of the road; Caretaker Momala, the Child Brigade, Leek's father and Austere all worked together to indirectly kill his only chance at joining the guild. It was very uncharacteristic for the young Tyrunt, but he found it difficult to find a silver lining in the midst of this terrible situation. He imagined tearing the Charmander apart with his sharp teeth, like he would do to a Caterpie. As things were, all he had to do was get behind his quarry and pull up to snap his neck, and then let his body bleed out before he tore into the flesh on his side.

_This is normal,_ Aorun had to tell himself sickly. _Don't be disgusted, all carnivores get like that when they're angry_. This information came to him years ago, when Caretaker Momala found out that he tried to take a bite from Butch after losing in a nudge-match. _Think rationally and it'll pass. _

Jailed in a nasty supply room and ceaselessly tortured, Austere was lucky to have even the semblance of sensibility still with him. Besides that, Aorun could see the fear in the Charmander's eyes - not because the Tyrunt was only seconds away from wringing his neck, but because Austere's last friend just yelled at him hatefully. "Aorun?" Austere whispered. "Please, if you give me some time, I'll fix this problem and earn your friendship back. Don't end this so quickly... you'd be surprised by how well I work under-"

"Everything is fine," Aorun breathed to himself. "I'm close to entering the Chatot Guild," he reasoned. "When I do, I won't need the poké I saved up for bribing Shabby anymore. I'll give it to him all at once and buy his silence."

Eager to keep Aorun's friendship, Austere nodded immediately. "Yes. You said that you needed someone to join with you, right? I'll apply!"

"No," Aorun argued. "You're too weak right now. They'd turn you down in a second."

"I've read enough books about explorers to know what the Chatot Guild is looking for in a recruit," Austere said confidently. He flashed his orange book to the Tyrunt and smiled. "Trust me: if I give my writing to them and apply to be the leader of your team-"

"_No! I'm leader!"_ After hearing those words fly out from his mouth, Aorun flinched with embarrassment. He sounded unappreciative and childish at that moment, and it shamed him. "Fine... I don't fully understand why they would accept you in your current condition, but... but I trust you. You were always so smart. Do what you need to do. I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"No, it's I who should apologize. I shouldn't have intruded on your affairs so quickly. I don't know much of the happenings outside of the supply room these last few weeks." The breeze kicked up and the sun's brightness started to dim as its setting arrived. "How goes the war?"

Aorun cocked his head to the side curiously. "_War_?"

Much warmer now than in the supply room, the Charmander's arms wrapped quickly around the Tyrunt. A confident smile spread across Austere's face. "Forget I ever mentioned it, please. You don't need any more stress right now. How about you go hunting while I apply? There's light enough, I assume."

Even so Shabby was an esteemed guard of the city, Austere's recommendation overrode his panicked orders. Aorun's stomach rumbled and his tongue salivated with the desire to hunt. Caterpie, apparently in dense population due to the warm day, would soon be returning back into their crevices. He wouldn't be hunting for his own food for a very long time, if Austere fulfilled his promise. The chance couldn't be missed. "Yeah, good idea! See you in a bit!"

Both relieved and determined at the same time, Austere waved to the departing Tyrunt. From the widening distance, the effort Austere put into steeling himself for his upcoming application slowly became less apparent.

* * *

A five minute run from Treasure Town's limits, Proxima Forest created a divide in the wide fields going out into the real world. Shabby once told Aorun that explorers hated the place because it forced them to take detours. When ferals broke out from the dungeon and started to roam around its edges, that too put them on edge. The dirt trail that cut a path between two bright green pastures was split itself when it approached the towering trees.

They loomed intimidatingly over the young child, but he knew that their brighter vestige was not real danger. The real danger laid deeper inside, when the trees became grey and the ground barren - the entrance into the Proxima Mystery Dungeon. Aorun didn't know much about Mystery Dungeons, except that feral spawned from them and that they are incessantly changing.

Inside this forest, light was scarce and adopted a sleepy green tiny. Aorun admired the effect the light had on his hide, watching as his gray tail gradually turned green like a blossoming plant. Caterpie liked it too; their glossy green body camouflaged them well. Yet it wouldn't stop one hungry Pokémon in the forest that afternoon.

In between two trees, Aorun looked up and smiled smugly. "Good try, Shabby." A small blue ribbon hung from a high branch, marking where the Mightyena found his prey. He used the blue slips to signify good places to hunt. For the sake of a challenge, however, he always playfully hid them away from plain sight.

It made Aorun regretful of his late entry into Proxima Forest. Shabby was busy cleaning up his mess, yet all Aorun wanted to do was eat. "Sorry," he whispered up the blue ribbon. Trying to shake off his guilt, the Tyrunt slowed his breathing.

Beginning as a tiny rumble, Aorun thought nothing of the ground's quivering. He chalked it up to his own nervousness and excitement, and doubled his efforts to relax.

Then, it became louder. He hardly had the time to look around before the entire forest trembled. Roar upon roar of fury came from the earth underneath his feet, its strength sending him into the tree with the blue ribbon. Again and again the shock waves slammed Aorun into the splintered bark. Rattled and nearly knocked unconscious, Aorun curled up protectively. As if it wanted to help, Shabby's blue ribbon fell gently over his eyes. It smelt like the Mightyena, though, and it forced Aorun to both protect himself and hold his breath. For a split second, Aorun feared that Shabby's vengeful spirit had possessed the place.

Crashes rung out in Proxima Forest as humongous, century-old trees were ripped asunder from their roots. _If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?_ A stupid little riddle from his orphanage that nonetheless crept into the desperate Tyrunt's mind. _Anything as loud and scary as a falling tree, _he answered to himself as another wave smashed him into the hard wood_, makes a sound regardless of whether there are Pokémon around.  
_

After the earthquake finally subsided, Aorun remained on the ground for several minutes and whimpered quietly to himself. "That... that wasn't entertaining at all," he whispered. But, no matter how sore it made him, it was not resurfacing. "Wow, a real-life earthquake..." Trixie, a ground type, could summon those jarring waves with concentration alone. He never properly imagined the power of such a technique. Shaking ground? Who would think it to be so terrifying?

A strong scent sent a shiver down the hunter's spine and pushed him back to his shaky feet. It was the scent of food sitting out in the open.

Did their exist a Caterpie stupid enough to flee to the nearby clearing? Nearly two years of experience told him that he was near a clearing hidden away by shrubbery. It was circular, with two symmetrical, rocks that were terrible cover for hiding prey. To make things worse, the light inside of the clearing was distinctively clearer than anywhere else in the forest.

Aorun felt bad to hunt it down because there would be one less dumb Caterpie for him to catch. Free meals didn't come often enough, however, and the Tyrunt knew he couldn't afford to hold back. What with the earthquake throwing it into the clearing, it was basically food walkng into his mouth! Abandoning his usual stealth, the hungry child romped past the two trees and exploded through the ring of high bushes.

He saw the Caterpie first and marveled at how eager it inched forward towards the large rock next to it. Ludicrously tiny yet very expressive, the Pokémon's face shared the same look the Tyrunt knew he put on while hunting. Following the path of its march with his eyes, he slowly came upon...

_"Arceus, Arceus, Arceus, **help me**!" _A Noibat screamed. A well-placed string shot from the worm had sealed its purple wings to the stone. "_I don't know where I am or what I was doing but this Pokémon is trying to devour me and **do**_**_ something_!"** The noisy Noibat continued his shrill ranting and struggled against the sticky string. He snapped menacingly at the tiny green creature. "Stay back, monst...er?" The Noibat snapped his jaws a few more times curiously, and then looked down. His trapped body frightened him. "_No, no no no... **what is going on?!"**_**  
**

It would have earned him a firm nip from his Caretaker, but Aorun laughed at the Noibat heartily. "Haha, how do you get trapped by a _Caterpie_?" Interestingly enough, the Tyrunt's talking didn't change the unlikely hunter's path. It seemed transfixed by the Noibat, as if it was his chance to shine and capture prey of his own. "It can't even hurt you!"

Now he realized why laughing at other Pokémon's silly problems was bad; the Noibat began to sob desperately and tug helplessly against the bonds. Eventually his fervor floated away and left him paralyzed with fear. "I'm... who am I? Something tells me this isn't a dream. That you're really speaking to me."

"You talking surprised me too. Who are you? How did you get here? This forest is blocked off to Treasure Town residents."

"That's the thing," the Noibat said. "I don't know much. It all seemed so dreamlike at first, and I slowly let go of everything. I didn't know I wouldn't be waking up."

Aorun felt bad for the confused Pokémon. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there and stop the Caterpie, but that means that it's my kill, okay?" Once he received the okay from the sad Pokémon, he leaned down and scooped up the senseless prey. Already he could tell it was going to taste great.

"W-wait a second, Y-your_ kill_?" The Noibat squeaked. Shrugging off the question, the Tyrunt leaned his head up and went through the usual motions with the squirming worm in his mouth. To Aorun's displeasure, the yelling started up again.

_"Oh Arceus what are you - no, don't do that to it - ah, you just - ah! Ew, turn yourself around while you - that sounded **disgusting**-"_

_"Can you stop?!" _Aorun growled, dropping his meal. "Seriously, it's uncomfortable to have you yelling at me like that."

A bit of the string rope broke as the Noibat struggled. "You're eating it!"

"Yes?"

_"And then you're going to eat me!" _

Tired of the Noibat's antics, Aorun rolled his eyes. He wiped the blood off of his jaw in the grass and smiled. "You're jumping to conclusions. I was going to free you, clean you off in a pond, and _then_ eat you!" The Noibat began to scream and fight more than ever. "Hey, it was only a joke-" The weak string bonds broke apart and allowed the Pokémon to escape. Aorun had half a mind to let him, but if he continued to run in that direction...

Twigs and leaves broke off against his sides as he chased after the flying Pokémon. "Wait!" He said, "you're going straight for the Mystery Dungeon!"

* * *

The trees became grayer and grayer, until the Tyrunt was sure that they were either inside or at the verge of entering the deadly place. But a scream from the Noibat told him that it was the latter.

Aorun emerged on the scene to find that the Noibat cornered by an injured Shinx. He pointed and backed away from the Shinx's salute, but the Tyrunt knew what it meant: this Shinx was from the Chatot Guild! Because of the many differences between Pokémon, a Chatot Guild salute involved different executions for different body types. A quadruped such as the Shinx tucked his tail in, tensed his body and turned his head up high.

"I'm explorer Sparks from Team Pathfinder, who operates under Commander Flora and serves the Chatot Guild!" The Shinx said.

"I'm scared!" The Noibat said back. It was quite a witty comment from a Noibat scared out of his wits - or maybe it was unintentional.

"I-I'm Aorun!" The Tyrunt said excitedly, jumping in between the two. "What happened to you? You're all cut up!"

The exhausted Pokémon eyes them curiously. "Are you two townsfolk? What are you doing all the way out in - no, it doesn't matter, not now!" He jumped forward and breathed in. "The Cherry Blossom Outpost has been overtaken and my comrades taken prisoner! Team Pathfinder escaped to deliver this news, but we were ambushed by an aggressive Scolipede and forced into the dungeon."

"Where's the rest of your team?" Aorun asked?

"My t-team leader, he... the Scolipede targeted him first in order to disorganize us..." Sparks growled to himself and gritted his teeth. "Damn it, Sparks, get it together! My team leader is dead and my other teammate captures, but that doesn't concern you. It's your job to deliver this message to the Chatot Guild while I hold the Scolipede off on the other side of the dungeon-"

"The two of us could help! You don't need to leave your friend behind!"

Sparks shook his head violently. "No! The message is more important than that. You two can't understand, but following our leader's orders to the letter is essential. Besides that, Scared looks like he's in no mentality to be in a dungeon."

It took a minute for Aorun to realize that Sparks really thought the Noibat's name was Scared. "Yes, I'm definitely not," Scared said. "Wait... but my name isn't Scared..."

"You sure do act like it!" Aorun told him.

Scared looked down shamefully. "No, it's only a little confusion from whatever is happening to me. These grey trees don't scare me at all! Y-you can't say that I'm afraid when I don't even remember who I really was." The small Pokémon steeled himself. "I'll do it... I won't allow you to label me like that. Don't squander my second chance just yet!"

Aorun couldn't figure out this Noibat nor his talking about 'second chances'. For hardly no reason at all, the Tyrunt felt strange about the frightened Pokémon. As if, even so the introduction was brief... it was as if the Noibat was there to help him and Sparks save the captured teammate. If he was suddenly willing to quit hiding and do just that, the Tyrunt wasn't going to argue. "There! Now we can get your teammate back," he said triumphantly.

Instead, Sparks waved his head to and fro, shaking away the demands. "No! The Chatot Guild has rules I must follow! Number o-one: don't shirk work!"

"Number two: _run away and pay!" _The Shinx looked up at him with surprise. After months of yearning to join the guild, Aorun knew its three rules very well - or well enough to make Sparks reconsider his decision.

Tears hit the barren ground as the explorer fought internally. "Handy... I'm sorry. B-but I can't leave Aroma behind to die!" He wrenched his head up and took steps towards the dark forest, unable to look back lest he change his mind again. "S-stay close behind me and follow my every command. I've o-only two seasons of real experience with me, and I can't save you if you get lost. When we get to the end of the dungeon, you w-will wait for me to steal my teammate back. Don't fight it under any circumstances!"

After this heroic, Aorun would become a team leader of his own! Smiling broadly, he followed the unsure Shinx into the Proxima Dungeon, no possible consequences lingering in his pleased mind.


	5. First Encounters with Adventures

Aorun had expected the trees and the foliage to decay as they forged on through the forest, but the Proxima Dungeon instead took on a monotonous tone. It was as if a fire singed the outside of every tree and scarred the ground, but somehow left everything standing. With every curious sniff, the dungeon smelled more and more like burnt wood. It made him fearful of things to come.

A first-timer to Mystery Dungeons, the place bewildered Aorun to the point of dizzying confusion. "So, um... what's everyone's favorite color?" Aorun asked, trying to be optimistic. How easy would it be to completely forget the meaning of color in this barren place? Already his memories of vivid oranges and greens became unsure and foggy. Was it his nervousness? Or something else?

Incredulous, Sparks turned his head back and scowled at him. "Are you being serious right now?" He hissed angrily. "The Proxima Dungeon may not be the most dangerous dungeon, but it can still kill us if we're busy talking about our _favorite colors." _Aorun frowned at him; he was only trying to diffuse the tension in the air. But maybe... maybe that pressure was the only thing keeping them alive. "Stay right behind me, and don't break from your rank for any reason."

When Scared hopped up to him without warning, the Tyrunt had to stifle a small yelp. "My favorite color is purple," the Noibat whispered to him. It made Aorun happy to know that the cowardly Pokémon wanted some comfort as well.

How odd it seemed to the Tyrunt, that the trees themselves began to form impassable barriers. Their wooden trunks almost fused together, leaving only the tiniest of cracks. Some of the elders in Treasure Town still called Mystery Dungeons by their old names, _labyrinths. _Their stubbornness made more sense now than it ever did to the young child.

"This is the most danger I've ever been in," Aorun muttered to himself suddenly. He didn't like the stark realization - what had he gotten himself into? His mind was muddled and his nerves shot. And the only respite from it all was Scared telling him about the color purple. "I'm in real-life danger. I could die here..." when the Tyrunt stopped walking and closed his eyes, Scared called out to their guide for help.

"Okay... you're feeling disoriented, which is perfectly normal," Sparks said. "But you have to keep walking, understand?" Aorun marveled at how the Shinx's cuts sealed before his very eyes. Even a shocking gash on his left shoulder gradually recovered, leaving behind only a red streak of old blood. "If w-we stay here, we will be forced to deal with more encounters than we need to."

He tried to shake his head clear of doubt, but the terrible feeling clung on stubbornly. "I almost want to encounter something," Aorun admitted. "I can't take this silence or the black and white colors anymore. I want the dungeon to attack me!"

A small scuffle sent all three Pokémon into a small panic. "_Arceus!" _Sparks shouted. "_Something's in the trees!"__  
_

"_Be careful what you wish for, Aorun!" _Scared said. He scampered over and hid behind Sparks. Proxima Dungeon answered Aorun's begging cry eagerly; two Zigzagoon fell from the trees to their right. Before any of the young Pokémon had time to react, they were surrounded; two more fell from the left and joined their hungry siblings in the hunt. They moved to the back of the group and waited patiently. "_You stupid- you just had to open your stupid mouth!"_

"I'm employing a shock field!" Sparks told them. Acting quickly, the small Shinx slashed the star at the end of his tail across the ashen ground. He cried out as he dug his tail into the small slit of earth he opened. Light burst out from the Shinx's body and into the hole. It caused some tingling in Aorun, but absolutely startled the surrounding Zigzagoon.

The ferals reared back and screamed as they felt the burst of energy approaching. Sparks roared and put all of his effort into the shock field, and his body began to shake violently. "_No, no, **no!"**_Suddenly, the group's only hope faltered; the Shinx's shock field backfired and the resulting explosion sent him flying into the wall of trees. "_There wasn't enough material in the ground to conduct the field - I c-can't stop them!"_

Aorun stared wide-eyed at the Zigzagoon. They smiled cruelly at them, a smile that told the Tyrunt what torture they had in store for him.

Yet, at the same time... this was it. For the first time in his life, Aorun had a chance to fight a Pokémon without reservation. Anticipation coursed through him as he beheld a true battle to the death. A struggle for survival for the young prey trapped within the burnt Mystery Dungeon.

He was angry that the Zigzagoon considered him, the greatest predator, prey. An ancient rage burnt through him and provided the young child with a cruel smile of his own. As he did with Austere during his childish fit, he imagined the taste of these Pokémon between his maw. _It's completely natural,_ he told himself, _for a carnivore to feel this way._ "Scared, listen to me," he said to the shaking Noibat.

"W-what, do you have a plan - why are you _smiling?! This situation isn't funny!_"

"If you distract the other two, I can kill them all, I think..."

"Look, I thought the Caterpie kill was pretty brutal, but you're picking on someone your own size, now!"

There was no more time for debate; the Zigzagoon stalked forward, ready to end this game. "Whether you distract them or not..._ I'm going in_!"

* * *

With an enraged roar, Aorun threw himself at the two ferals in front. Even though the attack threw them off their guard, they quickly assumed that they could dominate the small child. The one on the right, dirty and starved, jumped into the air and tried to slash the Tyrunt's neck.

Instead, he found himself trapped inside Aorun's large jaw. The creature flung itself about, but it was trapped in Aorun's mouth from is head to its forearms. Unable to breathe through his mouthful of Zigzagoon, Aorun quickly twisted around and slammed the feral into the ground. He wrenched back as hard as he could. The pull wasn't nearly strong enough to snap its neck, but the Pokémon's own struggles lacerated his neck upon the Tyrunt's sharp jaw when he broke free.

The creature tried to continue the fight, but its injuries had thrown its body into disarray. Bleeding and in shock, the defeated feral was forced to leave his fellow hunters behind. Aorun considered chasing it down, but the other feral protected his injured sibling's retreat. A battle-cry came from the brown Pokémon as it clamped on to the Tyrunt's tiny left arm. He crouched low to the ground, where the fierce Pokémon couldn't reach him.

At this rate and in this position, the Zigzagoon was going to rip off his arm and the Tyrunt could do nothing about it. But, unbeknownst to the confident hunter, Aorun's Dragon Rage allowed him to work from odd angles. The pain in his crunched arm and pulsating leg nearly rendered him unconscious as he initiated the technique. In the midst of battle, it was so much easier to ignore the crippling feelings, however. Never before had Aorun felt so alive.

Far too committed to the assault to stop, the Zigzagoon whimpered as the Tyrunt roared triumphantly. He altered the pitch to a nearly inaudible squeal and then hiked it up to a piercing screech. Blackish soil flew into the feral's crouched body, sending it upwards. With his lungs nearly expended, Aorun wrenched his body and exposed the Zigzagoon's stomach. A final, receding screech was all it took to impale his attacker' stomach with a branch from a nearby tree.

The other Pokémon had gotten away... but Aorun definitely killed this one. Excruciating pain could not hide the impaled Pokémon from sight; his broken arm and strained mind were terrible barriers against the reality of his actions. "Wow... I did that," he whispered to himself. "It feels so-"

"_Aorun, behind you!"_

Aorun looked up just in time to see one of the two remaining ferals leaping towards his eyes. Sharp, dirty claws would have raked his eyes if it hadn't been for an agile Shinx knocking the Zigzagoon away. The creature recovered with a roll and tried to snap at the still-charging Sparks, but he fell right into the explorer's feint. _"For Team Pathfinder_!" Sparks cried as he spun around and smacked the Zigzagoon's head with his tail.

He leaped into the air, spun again, and dealt the final blow to the stunned enemy. Unable to stay awake through the pounding strikes, the feral gave one final cry and fainted. "W-where's the last feral?!" Sparks asked quickly, not even taking the time to relax.

"_H-h-h-h-h-ee-lp!" _Scared screamed. He had found a decent hiding place in a nearby tree, but the last feral wouldn't give up its pursuit. The branches on Scared's tree did not allow him to high enough to escape from the Pokémon's jumping snaps. While one enemy had broken through his antics, Aorun admitted that he did a fairly good job of distracting this one feral.

They ran as fast they could towards the panicking Noibat, but the Zigzagoon clamped his teeth around the Pokémon's lean leg. "_No! __Stay back!" __  
_

A strong gust of wind erupted from the Noibat's wings, ripping the feral off of his leg. The creature slammed into the dirt with a satisfying _thud_ that agreed with its wheezing yelp. After landing straight on its head from the high fall, it too had no choice but to follow its bleeding brother in retreat. But that turned out to be a dark road as well; the bleeding sibling did not make it very far before succumbing to his wounds.

No other options presented themselves, so the Zigzagoon threw itself to the ground and pretended to be dead. The fight was over.

Scared flew down from his tree, tears streaking down his small face. "My leg, it's bleeding now... oh no! Your arm, Aorun! S-Sparks, do something!" It frustrated Aorun that he couldn't see his injured arm. The thick buildup of blood that came from the wound, however, gave him a good idea of what it looked like. "W-will he be okay?"_  
_

"He seems to have taken a quick bite out of the Zigzagoon's neck," Sparks said. "As long as you're full, Aorun, that wound won't take long to heal." The Tyrunt nodded meekly and the Shinx moved in. "Aorun... that was... I've never seen anything like that before. What was that?"

"My Dragon Rage," Aorun answered proudly. "If we don't have time for colors, we definitely don't have time to talk about _that! _Let's keep going - I feel... I feel wonderful! We'll have your friend nice and safe in no time!"

The Shinx gave the duo a toothy grin and nodded excitedly. "T-thank you, you two! We have to be close to the end - this dungeon isn't very large." He wrapped his tail around his body and wiped away stray tears. "Y-you don't know how painful it is to lose someone close to you - or to think that you did. Could you imagine losing someone?" The truth was that he could. He could imagine it three times over. Aorun only shrugged nervously and looked at the shaky Noibat.

A shrill giggle came from Scared. "Friendship is an important feature of everyday life. Without friendship, we cannot strive to be better people. The fears of falling down from our climb to our aspirations is much less scary when we have our allies backing us up! I learned an important lesson about friendship! Thank you, Aorun!" The Tyrunt blushed and averted his eyes, glad to be of such great help.

An awkward silence followed the odd response. "That's... very inspiring?" The Shinx replied.

"Ugh! I though if I learned an important lesson, then this terrible curse on me would be removed!"

Snarling angrily, Aorun pushed the Noibat to the ground. "You're a huge jerk!" Unable to believe how the Noibat just slighted him, Aorun stomped away. One thing was for sure, at least: the battle had served to reinvigorate his lust for adventure.

* * *

"It looks like the ferals in the dungeon don't want a piece of this!" Scared said proudly. He flew down to the ground and flexed his wings for the Tyrunt. "Hi-yah! Did you see the way I pushed that Zigzagoon down?"

"Yeah. I also saw you screaming and crying like a newborn," Aorun muttered to the Noibat.

"That's the problem with fighting, I guess: everyone's a critic." If only Scared was this cocky during the actual battles. "I know you're a little heated up over my comment earlier, but - what's that?! Sparks, there is something shiny sticking out of that tree!"

Aorun and Sparks marveled at the length of steel coming out of a nearby tree. "Wow," Sparks breathed, "that's a metal spike! They rarely grow from the trees in dungeons - it might be the marking of an inventory dump!" Hope glimmered in the Shinx's eyes as he ran over to the spike and dug through the ground near the tree. "Yes! It is! Look, guys: there's a ton of stuff here for us. Items in a dungeon congregate into tiny piles - how they do it is dependent on the dungeon. They can be a mix of both natural items and old equipment from explorers."

The Shinx's dirt-caked paws tossed out a seed and a scarf. "See?"

This was exciting! Aorun jumped forward and inspected the seed. It was fairly large and it looked delicious. His arm felt much better, improved by the mysterious dungeon's magic. But maybe another small snack wouldn't hurt. Sticking out his tongue, the Tyrunt attempted to scoop the seed from the ground and into his mouth.

The damned Noibat knocked him away from it, though. "Oh, you hungry dolt! Don't go around trying to eat stuff off of the ground!"

"_Why not?!" _Aorun pouted and turned away.

"Firstly, haven't you heard of the _five-second rule?_ And secondly, it could be poisonous or disgusting. Don't put scary stuff in your mouth." Aorun almost asked the Noibat when he became such an expert on seeds when the Shinx agreed with him. He moved the seed about with his paw and then stepped away from it.

He slowly corralled the other two, moving them away from the seed. "That's a crosseye seed," he said. "If you apply too much pressure to it, it will explode and wreck your sense of judgment. It's so potent, even an Alakazam becomes a drooling idiot under its effect. Thank Arceus that Scared's instincts told you not to eat it."

Embarrassed, Aorun turned to the Noibat and hung his head. "Sorry for snapping at you, Scared. Thank you."

"Hey, don't mention it!" He said with a chipper grin. "I listen to my gut... and you listen to _your_ gut! We're different sides to the same coin!" Still grinning, the Noibat hopped forward carefully and scooped up the seed. "This will be useful in case things go awry with the Scolipede. And..." he flew up and ripped the iron spike out from its spot in the tree. It was nearly as tall as the Noibat holding it. "There's no way I'm leaving _this_ behind!"

Sparks rolled his eyes. "As for the scarf, I don't really know what the purple threading indicates. But I think you should wear it, Aorun. You earned it after that fight with the Zigzagoon." A prideful warmth coursed through the Tyrunt's blood as Sparks threw the purple scarf around his neck. "Well, it seems like we're ready to save my partn..." he looked away and blinked a few times. "My teammate."

"We were lucky to come across this," Sparks said as he turned back to the path, "because we're at the end. This is it. We only ran into one encounter and we found some items, too. We have been lucky thus far... we really do have a shot at this!" Aorun gaped at the large gap in the wall of trees. Colors splashed about inside of its strange portal, as if the gap bridged the great divide between to different worlds. The colors were both mesmerizing and inviting. "Remember: I'll run in and grab her and my bag, and then we all escape using the explorer medallions. That Scolipede can't outrun us once we're out of the dungeon."

Scared nodded and perched himself on Aorun's head. If his arms were longer, he would swat him off in a heartbeat. "Don't worry too much. If it comes to a fight," Scared said, "this Tyrunt is a real worm-slayer!" They were as relaxed as they could ever be. Nodding to each other, they slowly walked through the portal that led to the end of the dungeon.

* * *

Aorun recognized where they were immediately. So did Scared. "I recognize this place," the Noibat whispered. "This is where that Caterpie almost devoured me whole." The ring of bushes definitely looked that way. How did they end up here? "Different time, same old story, huh? A worm causing everyone trouble."

Following the Shinx's lead, Aorun turned his head back and hissed at the Noibat. "Shut up, you'll expose our locati-"

A piercing yell rang out in the clearing, startling the three rescuers. Sparks jumped forward frantically and poked his head through the bushes. "_I'll never reveal information! Y-y-you can't make me! I'd rather die!" _It was painful to hear pain corrupt such a sweet voice. Aorun looked through the bushes just in time to see a Lilligant get crushed by the giant, demonic Scolipede. Sparks looked down and gritted his teeth, trying not to cry.

When the dust cleared, however, it was revealed that the Scolipede only wished to toy with the explorer. The Lilligant's head rested in between the two deadly spikes atop his head. He laughed and pulled them out of the green grass. "Dear, you should not ask for death so eagerly. If you refuse to give me useful information, you will find that its grace will never, ever, be yours."

The taunting, smug tone the Scolipede spoke in enraged the Tyrunt. He wanted nothing more than to tear apart the overgrown, red worm. But he had to follow the plan laid out by the trembling Shinx. "Damn you and your army!" The Lilligant sobbed. "Why do you do this to us? Why can't you leave us all alone?"

"It is not your place to ask questions, fool. Ask another and you will spend the day lacking arms-" the Scolipede's head shot up and started to search the perimeter. Twigs scratched Aorun's head as he wrenched his head out of the bushes. Sparks's trembling had worsened and his eyes became bloodshot. He was holding his breath, but the panic was getting to him. It was only a matter of time before he made a noise.

The Scolipede turned his pincers towards the sky. "Where was I? Oh. Lacking arms, lacking legs, yet still alive. I know how to do such things for I am superior to you silly explorers. Ask your leader." The Lilligant held back more sobs at the mention of their deceased leader.

If the Shinx didn't move in now, he was going to suffocate on his rage and fear. "Go," Aorun whispered encouragingly. "Before you can't." Sparks nodded sickly. He nodded to himself twice over, and on the third time let loose a great yell. The Shinx shot forward with stunning speed; by the time Aorun looked through the bushes again, he was only a few meters away from his teammate.

But the Scolipede had only chosen to ignore their presence; laughing cruelly, the giant Pokémon turned to face the charging explorer. The fierce yell devolved into a wavering cry as the beast slammed its long length into the ground in front of Sparks.

Whether by dumb luck or helpful adrenaline, Sparks managed to kick himself away from the attack. A stray piece of soil flung into his face, leaving behind a red streak. Catching himself with trained precision, the Shinx then dived towards the rising Scolipede and headbutted his underside. A firm grunt was all the came from the Scolipede at first, but desperate persistence eventually forced the heavy Pokémon into the air. Aorun and Scared watched on, frozen with anticipation.

"_Fell my thunder, monster!" _Sparks roared. He jumped into the air and enveloped himself in blinding light. His teammate watched from her spot on the ground, reaching out to the brave Pokémon. She realized it far sooner than everyone else: the Scolipede was twisting in the air even as the Shinx shot forward; the attack was going to miss.

In a display of horrifying skill, the Scolipede caught the ground with its head spikes. The tackling Shinx overshot his attack and found himself caught on one of the twisting monster's feet. He could barely wail before their revolution was complete. A sickening screech came from both teammates as the Scolipede slammed Spark into the ground head-first._  
_

After letting loose a long, pleasured cackle, the Scolipede took his weight off of the Shinx. The Pokémon laid on his back, his eyes straining to stay open. His paws scrabbled towards the sky and also towards his crushed neck. "Aw, did I break your windpipe, idiot? Maybe you should reconsider such silly methods of attack. The Shinx spat again and again, trying to find a second wind.

The Lilligant ran towards her teammate and fell on top of him. "_No!" _She wailed, clutching his mangled body. He looked up to her with wide, surprised eyes. "_You bastard! Why?!"_

"He attacked me first," the Scolipede replied casually. "He would survive, if I wasn't about to kill you both. I've had enough fun."

Aorun shook with terror as the monster prepared to finish off his tortured prey. From his spot in the bushes, the Tyrunt saw Sparks limply pawing out towards him. The message was clear: _run away and save yourselves._ Aorun gaped at the Pokémon, who violently nodded his consent.

"_No!" _Aorun roared and jumped through the bushes, exposing himself to the Scolipede. "_The heroes always win, no matter what!" _The time for cruel talking was over; the Tyrunt gave the Scolipede no time to respond.

Reacting with startling speed, the Scolipede attempted to jump backwards and impale him with a second pair of spikes on his back. Aorun jumped over the attack and landed on the Scolipede's back. He wasted no time in digging his teeth into the bastards' neck like he would a Caterpie. But he had misjudged the strength of his armor, and soon found uselessly gnawing on red skin. By the time he even tore off a piece, it was far too late to deal any damage.

The wound made the calm killer become furious. "Do you think you're fancy?!" The Pokémon asked as he knocked the Tyrunt off of him. "_Watch closely, you insignificant brat_!" He wrenched his head towards the sky and spewed out purple sludge. He laughed maniacally as he twisted around in it, covering his spikes. Aorun screamed as he was sliced from head to foot by the agile poison type. A long streak, worse in some places than others, ran across his gray hide. "Enjoy the excrutiating poison," he taunted.

Instead, the scarf around the Tyrunt's neck disintegrated. The poison did not take effect, and the enemy knew why. "_A pecha scarf?! Do you live solely to annoy me, child?" _

Scared shot out from the bushes, trembling yet determined. "_More of you? Why are you all so excited to throw your lives away?" _

"I'm not throwing my life," Scared said, "I'm here to throw _this!" _A reddish speck flew across the distance and smacked the mud-drenched monster in the face. He screamed as a small cloud of dust enveloped his face. His eyes sickeningly absorbed the powder, making them bloodshot and confused.

"_I'm leader!" _The Scolipede yelled suddenly. "_I'm leader I'm leader I'm leader! I'm hungry and leader gets the most food!"_

Jumping on the opportunity, Aorun shot forward and flanked the crosseyed Scolipede. He once again ran up his back, but this time he grabbed the sludge-covered pincers and pinned the upper half of his body to the ground. "_The open area, Scared! On the back of his neck!" _

"_No! You never kill me, I leader! I l-l-leader! Eh?" _The Scolipede tried to throw up the back half of its body, but taut vines held him in place._  
_

"Time to pay, bastard," the Lilligant muttered. The monster screamed and tried to escape his upcoming demise.

Yet the Noibat struck true with his iron spike. The creature wailed and trembled as the spike sunk into his flesh. It sank deeper and deeper, until it pierced the skin on the other side. Aorun and the Lilligant roared with triumph as the damned monster fell to the ground, unable to resist the inevitable. "Me... l-leader..."

The Scolipede's eyes rolled back as it fell to the ground, dead. Scared threw himself to the ground and breathed in and out rapidly, trying to recover from what he had just done. "Arceus... I... I did this? Me?"

"Yes," Aorun said.

"I don't really know how to say this," the Noibat said while running his hand over the dead Scolipede. "But, that was overwhelming. I've never felt so alive - it was as if the stabbing took hours to achieve. I enjoyed every m-minute of it. Does that make me a... a monster?"

Spurred on by the dungeon's regenerative effects, Sparks picked himself up and shook his head. The Noibat looked away and smiled.

"Hey, who cares, right? Everyone seems to be in tip-top shape! We did it!" He whooped and started to fly about the clearing, celebrating their triumph over the cruel and senseless. Aorun smiled and watched him go to and fro in the air, attempting flying patterns far too advanced for him to pull off.

"Thank you both!" The Lilligant sobbed and wiped away her tears. "If you hadn't attacked, w-we would have... oh, Sparks! Where did you find such fierce children?"

Sparks smiled and opened his mouth to say that he found them in the forest, chasing each other about. That they insisted he return and save her. That they disobeyed him and fought a hopeless battle. That they won it, and brought them back together again.

But nothing came out.

The Shinx tried again and again, but empty wheezes replaced meaningful words. "No," she said stubbornly. The Shinx fell back to the ground and coughed out, trying his hardest to speak. "Y-your throat... please don't tell me the dungeon didn't heal it properly. S-say something, Sparks! This isn't funny!" He clenched his eyes shut and gave a mute yell - it came out no louder than a breath. "Say something! Please, Sparks, please!"

The mute teammate leaped forward and embraced her, sobbing heavily. The Lilligant plopped to the ground, carrying Sparks along with her. Aorun and Scared stood close to one another. In the face of this terrible scene, of the Lilligant begging the Shinx to speak again, neither one could stomach being alone.

"Why?" Scared whispered, watching the sad scene unfold. "We did everything right. Why did something like this have to happen, Aorun? What went wrong?"

It only became worse; when he had gripped the Scolipede's spikes, he ingested some of the poisonous sludge. He could tell it wasn't lethal, yet he knew he was going to faint soon. But before that, he turned to the curious Noibat.

"I'm sorry, Scared... but I don't really understand the world we live in. Novo is a confusing place, and no matter how many challenges we overcome, that will never change. I used to ask questions like yours about my friends, about their disappearance, but..."

"But its useless. What happens... happens. And all we can do is grow a little stronger and a bit faster each day. Until one day we overcome the challenge that will finally make make everything else seem sensible. It's somewhere out there, waiting for me. Tall, ferocious, and equipped with these sharp teeth of mine... I'll cut my path... my way to the Final Frontier... j-join m-m-me..."

Unable to withstand the effects of the poison any longer, he fell towards the silent Noibat. After a long day, it felt good to have everything go black.

* * *

**End of Part One**

**Thank you for reading this far! If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns or questions, PM me or leave a review. Feedback is always appreciated.**

**More of_ PMD: Blue Winters and Red Passions_ is right around the corner!**


	6. Path to Friendship

_"You have done well. The blood of the wrong stains the dungeon. Allow its intoxicating musk to lead you down the path of righteousness. Lust for the enemy's death, and do not fall into the chaos. Remember friend and foe. Most of all: be unlike me."_

* * *

"Ah!" Aorun eyes shot open and his legs shot out frantically. He kicked himself off of the strange pad that had started congratulating him in a deep, terrifying chant. He felt as though he had heard it both once and a thousand times, in a slumber that was enveloped by the doomed voice. Disoriented and confused, the Tyrunt scooted away from the pad and turned away from it, in case it tried to attack him.

"Where am I?" Aorun didn't know what answer he expected from the brown walls of the room, but he couldn't help but ask questions. "What did I wake up on? Who did this to me?"

When a warm claw planted itself on his shoulder, Aorun yelped and shot up to his feet. His friend Austere, with healthy orange skin and bulbous tail, gave him a reassuring grin. "A-Austere, you don't know how happy I am to see you!"

The flames on the Charmander's tail shot up several inches. "R-really?" He asked cautiously, as if he expected Aorun to rescind the merry greeting. "I... well... I have so much more reason to be happy to see _you_." Aorun tried to figure out why when the events of yesterday came surging back to him. "Your unexpected trip to save that Lilligant almost costed us our team. One minute the commanders and I are speaking of you, and the next you're with three other Pokémon, injured and unconscious."

Aorun looked down guiltily. "W-what were you guys talking about?"

The Charmander walked over to the wall and rested his head against it. "Well, I was in the middle of saying something along the lines of _yes, Commander Sambo, I promise that I will keep Aorun in line - oh, what's that? Outside? Injured? Never mind what I said, then._" Whenever the Charmander used to joke around, Aorun could never hold back a few giggles. But he soon choked on the giggles.

Did he imagine it? Or did Austere really just say _our team?! _"Please, Aorun. Having your eyes bulge so simply can't be healthy." The Tyrunt's eyes shone with pure glee as the Charmander revealed three ribbons with three separate, ornate pendants. _Explorer medallions. _It took all the strength he had not to begin squealing out; Austere actually followed through. He took one of the medallions and held it up for Aorun. "May... may I put it on you?"

That was all it took for the silenced Tyrunt to shoot forward excitedly. Everything else became insignificant as the Charmander threw the blue ribbon and medallion over his neck. The gem in the middle of medallion - an escape mechanism and a warning system for nearby dungeons - dazzled the new explorer with its pure turquoise light. His back began to wag happily, as if he was a tiny child again. "Aha! A-Austere, I... no, we did it! Our own t-team! How did you do it?!"

"Well, I told you if I gave them my book, they would take us on," Austere said. "It's a little silly how much it interested them; I'm sure that anyone else could speculate a little on fairy types and craft some techniques using it..."

Aorun jumped when snickering came bursting out from somewhere in the room. "They say," a voice above them said between chuckles, "that one out of three Pokémon is an overachiever." Aorun looked up to the domed roof of their room and saw Scared perched atop a long pole. He waved with a wing and flipped down. "It isn't me, and it isn't you, Aorun... oh no, Austere!"

The Noibat laughed and swerved around the scowling Charmander, tipping him on the head with his velvet wing. He seemed much more lucid and calm than he was in the dungeon. "I know that it was you first dungeon, Aorun," Austere said in between his attempts to swat away Scared, "but could you have maybe refrained from bringing back a _souvenir?" _

"I'm not a souvenir," Scared retorted, "I'm a _trophy!_"

Without the dangers of the forest, the Noibat's antics made the Tyrunt laugh heartily. "Ha, Scared!" But curiosity trumped his entertainment. "Wait, is that third medallion for _you_? Y-you wouldn't like this kind of business at all!" Aorun was extremely worried for the air-headed Pokémon. "I think you made a huge mistake..."_  
_

Surprisingly enough, the Noibat nodded enthusiastically. "You bet I am, you dolt! But you're the one who asked me to tag along, remember?" Small gusts of wind flew out from his wings as Scared flailed dramatically and fell to the ground. "_J-j-join me,_" Scared mimicked. "You promised me an explanation, and I'm going to make sure you pay up! Besides - there's no way I'm going out into that deathtrap of a town, anyway."

"For good reason," Austere mumbled. "Half of Treasure Town would want to kill you after three minutes."

"Hey! Stuff it, _floor manager!"_

Aorun eyed the Charmander curiously. "F-floor manager?"

Modest as always, Austere shrugged it off. "We are on the fourth basement floor of the Chatot guild. Commander Sambo's recruits - that's us - and official teams sleep here, as well as some members from the elite teams. A quick hierarchy: The Guild Master has authority over Sambo, who has authority over his established teams, who organize the recruits on the side, who rely on me to settle the smallest of issues."

Not only did he get the role of team leader in their own team... but the sickly orphan somehow worked his way into a position of authority among the recruits. Aorun felt the dull burns of jealousy in his chest rising up, but quelled them quickly; Nothing could get through the euphoria of finally being a part of a team! "Congratulations!" He said sincerely. The Charmander sighed heavily.

And Scared chuckled. "Oh, he's been awake since the crack of dawn," he said. "It's a real curse, this floor manager business!" Austere shook his head sadly.

A rambunctious, furious Mudkip threw himself into their room, as if Austere's moping summoned him. Only Aorun, who had been around the Charmander before, knew that clearing his throat was his polite way of groaning. "Hello again, Dizzy. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, he did it again, I tell you!" He stomped his blue feet angrily. "That Houndour nipped my tail-fin while I was sleeping! He wants me to leave and sleep in the hallway but my mother said to not allow myself to get bullied and, and I'll you what's what, Austere! You're floor manager you better show him what-for this time or else my father will make sure..." Austere rubbed his eyes and sulked away, following the ranting Pokémon.

"Don't you think that little guy shows initiative? He hasn't even got through the first night, yet he already knows how to tattle!" Aorun gave the Noibat a tiny smirk. With the excitement of the team slowly transforming from violent surprise to burning pleasure, Aorun finally found himself able to return to the strange voice that woke him.

He turned to the strange Noibat, inspecting him curiously. "Uh, Scared... Did you say something and wake me up? Something like _You have done well?_"

"No, I can't say that was me. Who do you think it was?"

"I don't know." Aorun really didn't have a clue. "Whoever it was, they care a lot about me."

"What if it was just a dream? After all of those bad sights yesterday, your noggin might be even worse, now."

"E-even _worse?!_" Aorun turned away angrily. "And it wasn't a dream! Like I said, they don't want me to follow their path. He's afraid that I'll start turning on everyone. T-that's ridiculous, right? I've proven that I can control my impulses when I went through that dungeon."

Although Scared was joking just a second ago, his face suddenly became very serious. The stark contrast shocked the Tyrunt. "No, Aorun. You didn't, really."

Aorun threw his gaze to the stone ground, unable to figure out what to say next. Should he argue? He felt that, deep down inside of him, he was able to stop himself at the Zigzagoon. He didn't hurt Austere earlier. He had gotten close to the latter - and maybe to the former, he couldn't remember it very well - but he knew how to fight it off. With Caretaker Momala's nurturing and the voice encouraging him, it was a stupid problem to think about.

So instead of saying anything about it, he turned his frown upside down and put his head up high. "So, what's the plan for today?"

The Noibat sighed with relief - he obviously hated pressure of any kind. "Austere says we are having a meeting with the other Pokémon that Sambo recruited, and then we are going to meet all of the recruits in the mess hall on the fifth basement level. This all happens in an hour. Hope you're ready, because I'm definitely not."

Aorun doubted if he had ever been more ready for something in his life. For once, he was a part of something large again. And all that was left to ask, before being whisked away into guild life, was: "what was the strange thing I woke up on? It was soft, and kept my body from touching the cold floor."

In response, the Noibat sighed and gave him an amused smirk. "We in the business of sleeping call that a _bed_, Aorun."

The Tyrunt blinked a few times. It was too odd to think that his days of sleeping on the beach were over. So much so, that waking up on a bed was worthy of being called peculiar. He smiled awkwardly.

"Oh. I remember those."

* * *

**Introducing... Part Two: the First Steps**

**Quick note: The first chapter for part two was a little long (5000 words, a bit much for the intro) so I decided to split it up like this. Sorry about the short update, but I hope you guys are ready to meet some of the characters I cooked up. Hopefully they'll be interesting...**

**hopefully.**


	7. A Few Introductions

Waiting an hour in their small, dusty room had to be the most anxiety-ridden hour in Aorun's life. It began well enough with some friendly conversation with Scared. But, as time went on, the Tyrunt started to realize that they didn't have many happy subjects to talk about; The dungeon led them back to Spark's muteness; The amnesiac Noibat frowned every time he tried to recall his past; after revealing his own past twice yesterday, Aorun felt burnt out on recalling that Winter.

Eventually, he pretended to go back to sleep. Aorun planted his head on the mat and forced his eyes closed. The heavy beating of his heart gave him something to focus on. _It's alright if Scared and I have nothing to talk about_, he told himself, _because we're in the guild now. We'll have so much going on it'll be hard to stop talking._

Aorun daydreamed of seeing the Cherry Blossom Outpost Sparks mentioned. The Pokémon who once guarded it probably ate cherries every day, according to the name of the place. If he did exceptionally well, maybe he could help take it back from whoever was mean enough to attack it in the first place.

More than that, however, he wondered about the Final Frontier. Was it bright? Or maybe it was dimly lit but sanctified by the presence of great explorers. And they all fought together in fun sparring matches. When they were done, it could happen that they ate together at a huge table with mountains upon mountains of food.

_If that's what the Final Frontier is like..._ Aorun rolled over and sighed. _Trixie, Inferno. You better go easy on Leek. He deserves it after making it so far._

Austere finally returned to their room, beckoning for them to come out. "It's time to go and meet the other recruits. One of Commander Sambo's official teams is down here as well, so make sure you leave this room in a dignified manner." He turned around and walked away. "We're all waiting outside, in the meeting room - take a right and go all the way down. You won't miss it."

Aorun jumped up, ready to get out of their stuffy new room. He already knew that they were a Mudkip and a Houndour, but he wondered what they were like in greater detail.

For over two years, the Tyrunt never found the time to meet new Pokémon. Other than Shabby, Leek and the Heroes of Time, Aorun couldn't remember the last time he chatted with other Pokémon. Now, just an hour after waking up, he was expected to eventually place his life in the paws of these new friends.

As he stepped into the dimly lit hallways of the fourth basement level, Aorun started to miss the hour of waiting. The bright orange back of his friend hid behind his bright tail as he walked down the hall gracefully. The Tyrunt lowered his head a little and stared at the waving tail. _Austere... it's been one night and you already walk about as if you own the place. Were you always this calm?_

"Someone's taking their job as a hall monitor a little too seriously," Scared said. "He definitely seems to have recovered from whatever cold he had yesterday, too. Good for him."

"He was locked up in a supply room for a few weeks," the Tyrunt said in answer to both himself and Scared. The Noibat twisted around, surprised. "And he came out like this. I don't think anything can rattle him."

"Wow, he really is a cold-blooded salamander. That's insane - it's only normal to be in shock after stuff like that." Scared tightened his wings nervously as Austere stopped walking. The halls had carried their voices on its echoes and what the Charmander heard stopped him from standing tall. Looking back to the Noibat, he grabbed one arm with another and slumped down. It wasn't the odd Pokémon's fault, but it made Aorun angry to see Austere embarrassed like that.

Aorun nudged him as they passed by another open, vacant room. Vacant, but not empty of decorations; the official teams that lived in them must be guarding outposts, much like Team Pathfinder did before they were attacked. Aorun wanted to take a tour of every single one when he had the time. He hoped that the wish wasn't too nosy.

"Hey, Scared," he said quietly. "We need to be careful of what we say around Austere. I think the pressure is getting to him... he probably hates the amount of attention he's receiving from Sambo and the rest of the guild."

When no more comments came from the accepting Noibat, the Charmander recovered his original posture and finished the rest of the walk in good form.

The meeting hall, like Austere said, was very hard to miss. Two ornate doors were cut into the red stone walls at the end of the spacious room. It was very spacious and carried the loud shouts of an upset Mudkip. "Austere, he did it again while you were gone! Stupid punk, just leave me be. You're really ruining the Chatot Guild experience!"

A disinterested Houndour distanced himself from his growling roommate. "Hey, kid, I can't help it."

Laughing came from the corner of the red room. Aorun gaped at what had to be the official team. A magnificent Staraptor chuckled and leaned towards to his two teammates, a gruff Stoutland and a large Poliwrath. "New recruits, am I right?" The two nodded in unison. He smiled and raised his wing towards the exhausted Charmander trying to calm down the Mudkip.

"Sambo will be out soon," he said helpfully. "He'll have them singing a different tune real fast if they don't stop bickering." _  
_

"He's a bigoted, spoon-fed child," the Houndour said. In response, the small blue Pokémon stooped down low and upped the volume on his growling. "Last night, I told him I already received some training from my father, and do you want to know what he said? _Wow, good for you!"_ He mimicked the younger Pokémon's voice in a near-perfect pitch, reflecting its childlike fascination amazingly well. "_So you already know how to sit down and roll over?"_

Austere crossed his arms and eyed the Mudkip. "Well, this is new. Did you really say that to Blitz, Dizzy?"

Dizzy giggled guiltily. "I thought it was funny at the time. My family makes jokes like that about me often. Why didn't you just say you were upset? I would've said sorry."

"Some family," the Staraptor said under his breath. The Mudkip cocked his head to the side and frowned at the uninvited comment.

"Wait, just what is that supposed to mean?"

Before the tension in the room could worsen, Austere saved the situation. "Don't think anything of it, Dizzy. You should know that such things aren't funny. Some Pokémon find it incredibly offensive when you demean them. Yes, Houndour are naturally obedient and loyal, but they aren't simpletons." Dizzy tried to shrink down and hide himself away from the chastisement, but couldn't hide from the Charmander's bright tail. "Perpetuating that kind of humor is not exemplary of proper guild behavior."

"B-but that Tyrunt over there is giggling about it right now..."

Aorun stopped his silent snickering as everyone turned to him. It was enough to make his heart stop. "Oh... not to disagree with the floor manager, but I think that its a funny joke. B-but you should make sure they know you're joking, first." The Mudkip's eyes lit up as he stood tall again. On the other end, however, Blitz glared at him furiously. _Be nice to one, _Aorun thought glumly, _and the other one hates you for it. How can I possibly be friends with both of them?_

The stressful idea became even more pertinent as the Houndour stalked towards him. "Seriously? You're going to side with that idiot?"

A determined scowl acted as the Tyrunt's reply. "There aren't any sides," Austere said, "We're all recruits, and we need to get along."

Before Dizzy or Blitz could continue the argument, however, the meeting room nearly vibrated with slow, pounding steps. The official team looked quickly to one another and then assumed their respective salutes: the Staraptor raised a wing into the air and parallel to his body, the Stoutland pointed his nose the roof and sat down and the Poliwrath angled his arm and held it in front of his large, circular body. The bickering recruits gave up their fighting and fell into position.

Desperate to follow in their lead, Aorun threw his head up and crouched low to the ground. But he put too much momentum into it and ended up going way farther than he intended, which led to him headbutting the Noibat standing behind him. "Arceus!" Aorun cursed himself quietly for being so clumsy. "I'm really sorry, Scared."

"What the hell is in that head of yours?" Scared said after a nauseous moan. "I, I think I'm bleeding..." the footsteps became louder and louder from behind the ornate door on their left, causing the injured Pokémon to jump around hastily. "W-wait, my wings are also arms! Which salute do I do: the Staraptor's or the Poiwrath's?!"

"B-both!"

Aorun advised his teammate just in time; the meeting room pulsated with force as the Pangora kicked his door open. The sturdy slab of wood slammed into the stone with a resounding _crack_. Sambo sighed, clapped his gigantic paws together, and then lifted his right paw over his face. When his arm returned to his side, a nice twig was resting in between his teeth.

He returned the official team's salute with one of his own. "Morning, Team Oenoe. At ease." A growing smirk surfaced on the Staraptor's face as he lowered his wing. The way the other two members waited for him to follow Sambo's order exemplified the black bird's authority over the rest of Team Oenoe.

"How'd you sleep, Sambo?" The Tyrunt nearly gaped at how casual the three were around their commander. He expected a lot more obedience from such an intimidating Pangoro.

The groggy commander walked somberly over to the door on the right. "Well, someone decided to try and wash their mangy body yesterday," he said loudly, craning his head towards the door. "And all it did was make him smell like he drowned himself in a river. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I almost wish he didn't even bother."

A deep laugh came from the Stoutland. "Commander Sambo, please do not forget the glory of Team Deputy," he told his commander. "Elite team members don't need baths!"

Tired moans came from behind the door. "Leave me alone," a scratchy voice called out from its room, "I've had a rough night!" Snickers came from Team Oenoe and Commander Sambo, amused at the Pokémon's pleading. "Are you going to harass me all morning, or are you going to tell your stupid recruits to be at ease?" Sambo's eyes widened as he remembered that he had new recruits.

The hefty Pangoro walked towards them, inspecting their salutes. Aorun could only hear his footsteps; he was so scared of what laid behind the door, he had clenched his eyes shut.

_He sleeps one door down from me in the Chatot Guild, _Shabby had told him. Aorun also recalled, with much trepidation and horror, how he had disobeyed the Mightyena and ran out into the forest. And he also sent him to the river, where he got wet... there was a livid, furious Mightyena waiting behind that door. The fumes of anger matched well with the faint smell of wet fur. If he figured out Aorun was just a short walk away, Shabby would probably dole out the punishment of a lifetime.

"Hey, tell me," Shabby said cruelly, "is that Tyrunt out there shaking yet?"

"You two - at ease." Sambo adjusted his twig while Dizzy and Blitz relaxed. Both of them got off on the wrong foot, but they definitely didn't seem so willing to fight about it now. "Uh, not yet."

"I'll pay you seven-hundred poké if you let me beat him a little bit."

"Oh, yeah, that got him shaking. At ease, Aorun." What kind of unfair treatment was this? Aorun dropped out of his trembling salute and breathed in deeply.

He looked up to his commander pleadingly. "I-I didn't do anything, promise! P-p-please don't let him get at me..."

Everyone other than Austere pondered on what the Tyrunt had done wrong, except for Sambo. "Don't lie to your commander, Aorun. It's embarrassing." The Tyrunt gasped and stared at the ground. "I'm fairly good at casing my recruits. Meaning that I know about every adventure you went on after leaving the guild - Austere informed me about the orphanage situation and Shabby explained why he got so wet." The pounding of Aorun's heart started to drum in his head. "We work off of trust here, recruit. Team Oenoe! Rule number one!"

"Don't shirk work!" The team called back in unison.

Sambo crouched down and cuffed Aorun's head softly. He tried his best not to wince. "And A Pangoro never forgets: do you remember how you snapped back at me during the interview? I said I'd beat you for it if you became a part of my team, and I'm a trustworthy commander." He looked back to Shabby's room. "Make it nine hundred poké, Shabby, and you have yourself a deal."

Shabby laughed gleefully, and scuffling began on the other side of the door. "It's a deal! Be out there in five minutes."

Instead of crying out or trying to sob his way out of the punishment, Aorun took it for what it was; he was in a team now, all he head to do was prove himself to Commander Sambo and earn back his trust. _Besides,_ Aorun thought as he took deep, comforting breaths, _that Zigzagoon broke my arm yesterday, but I'm over it now. Beatings are worth getting a chance to redeem myself_._  
_

"I said to go outside and get some fresh air, fool," Sambo said. "Not to run around and cause problems. Although you did save Austere's life, according to him. As for the other issue, with the Pignite, it was still better than if he decided to simply go out and do it. Other than the beatings, I'll pardon you for your roaming about." Aorun wheezed out a _thank-you-so-much_ and shrunk away from the center of the meeting room.

Next in line to be judged was the shaky Noibat. He had his left arm raised in his winged salute, while his right arm copied the Poliwrath's method. Sambo sighed the moment he saw this. "Okay, fool number two. What in Novo are you doing?"

The Noibat squeaked fearfully and tightened his position. "I d-didn't know which salute to do C-Commander Sambo, considering m-m-my species. So I did them both."

"I... I suppose that shows initiative," Sambo said, confounded by the Pokémon's logic. "What do you make of it, Jet?"

Equally confounded, the Staraptor named Jet ruffled his feathers as he inspected it. "Well, Sambo, I think he needs to take charge of his individuality," he answered after a moment of thinking. There isn't a rigid salute for each species, Noibat. Do what you feel is best. With that said, you should do the winged salute," he added slyly.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Scared asked, not understanding. "Do the one I want to do, but do the winged one because it's best?"

Tittering softly, the Poliwrath disagreed with his team leader. "No, don't listen to that ball of feathers," he said confidently. "I see that armed salute you're doing and its quite frankly fit for you."

Jet turned to his teammate with mock-indignation. "Please, Hyp, don't mislead the new recruits. Commander Sambo shall punish you severely if you recommend such poor postures." The Noibat wanted to say that he was being toyed with, but couldn't decide for sure.

"I like the looking up one!" Dizzy cried out helpfully. "You get to sit down while doing it, it's much more relaxing. Look at our poor floor manager, his arms probably so sore right now! B-but that's just my opinion," he added on in a quiet whimper after Jet and Hyp sent frightening glares his way. Blitz rolled his eyes and moved in to nip Dizzy's tail-fin, but realized that Austere was watching.

Sambo sighed and shook his head. "You're causing friction in my guild, Scared. Everyone! This is a Noibat salute." With his huge paws, he grasped the small Pokémon, put his arms to his side, and planted him upside down in a headstand. "There will be no more debate." His twig and his eyes turned over to Austere, who was still waiting patiently. "At ease, floor manager. When we move up to the mess hall on the third basement level, Pep wishes to speak to you before she adds your book to the records."

The Charmander nodded and let his arm fall back down. "Yes, Commander Sambo."

"Okay, I'm done smelling that damned Mightyena's stench!" Sambo accented this declaration with a firm saunter towards the hall. "Recruits, to the third basement level." The five recruits looked to one another, trying to figure out how they should be reacting. Eventually, they all decided to be excited; even the grudge-holding Houndour put some effort into his steps as they followed their commander. Team Oenoe waved to them as they departed.

It was going to be so exciting! Aorun couldn't help but wear a toothy grin as he followed his friends down the dim hallway.

But a sudden crash in the meeting room reminded him of something important. "Hello, Aorun!" Shabby said tauntingly. He crouched down low and started to creep towards the paralyzed Tyrunt. The recruits tried to crane their necks and watch, but Sambo yelled for them to keep their eyes on him. "Guess who took a little _dip_ yesterday cleaning up your mess?"

"Y-you?"

"Wow, that's correct!"

Something shocking occurred to the Tyrunt: if no one else other than Team Oenoe, Commander Sambo, and elite team members were currently residing on the fifth floor... "wait, Shabby!You're part of an elite team?!"

"Correct again!" The Mightyena laughed maniacally. "I'm not a guard, Aorun - I just like to rest at the bottom of the hill every day, in between hunts. There's nothing else to do without a mission. Other than diving in rivers and bobbing for Pignite, of course. He's with one of his neighbors now, by the way. Thanks for worrying about him - oh, and you're welcome you unappreciative brat!"

Aorun couldn't believe that the Mightyena was such a high-ranking officer. Or that high-ranking officers spent their time hunting Caterpie. "If you weren't a guard, why did you accept my bribes?"

"Because you were giving me free money? I like you, Aorun, you always did impress me with your improvements in hunting. But you can't guilt-trip your way out of this beating. You made me _swim_, pal. You have to pay for that."

Aorun stepped backward, looking for a possible escape. But there was no escaping the consequences of bad decision-making. "Did you," the Tyrunt said as he resigned to his fate, "at least enter the water slowly and get rid of your ticks?"

To answer this question, a black speck bounced from one part of the Mightyena's back to another. A wolfish, crazed smile spread across Shabby's face. "Big-mouthed, cheeky... this shall be the best nine hundred poké I ever spent."


	8. An Unexpected Event

"And what if I tell you that you and I have different definitions of 'necessity'?" Aorun winced as Shabby clamped down on his stubby tail and pulled him back. Sore from his punishment earlier, Aorun sniffled and allowed the Mightyena to walk ahead of him.

A black wing patted him on the head as Team Oenoe stepped by him as well. After coming within earshot of the arguing in the mess hall, they all anxiously pushed their way up the steps and through the wide hole in the wall next to the stairs. One by one, they forced him to the back of their line.

Aorun never expected that Shabby could be so rough with him. He didn't go beyond cuffing and tiny bites, but he definitely knew how to make the little things count - most likely, torture was just one skill Shabby picked up as an elite team member. His short tail throbbed as he too made his way into the mess hall.

"I would have to regretfully inform you, Maga, that these are my recruits." Berceuse shared a large stage at the back of the mess hall with a snarling Mienshao. It was all too much like Aorun's interview; Commander Maga and Guild Master Berceuse stood inches away from one another, neither one willing to back down. The other commanders and the recruits sat by idly. "I do with them what I want."

The mess hall was simply gigantic. It was nearly an atrium, something that should have obviously never been possible to construct into the side of a tower. Aorun realized that this was actually built _into_ the hill leading to the Chatot Guild's front gates. Filled with only a dozen or so Pokémon where it could fit hundreds, it began to take on the eerie image of an arena. The tables normally used for eating were pushed off to the far sides.

The four commanders stood in the center of the room, side by side and with new explorers in tow. Sunny had one pupil while Pep had two, but Sambo dwarfed them both with his staggering amount of five Pokémon. A single Breloom watched the stage by himself, waiting for his commander, Maga, to return from his debate with the Guild Master.

It didn't surprise Aorun that all the new explorers watching the stage shifted about nervously. To them, the arguing was probably a great shock. Harsh requirements and a stressful interview, however, prepared Aorun for this. He made his way over to his Commander and watched the scene unfold.

Maga revealed the extent of his insubordination when he bumped heads with Berceuse, trying to make him retreat. Several recruits gasped and pointed at the act. The Chatot kept his ground and looked out to the audience while the Mienshao pushed his head against his Guild Master.

"Keep touching him, Maga, and I'll be forced to come up there." Sambo rolled his neck, readying himself for a fight. A series of small _pops _echoed in the mess hall as he moved his head to the left and right.

Not willing to incite the Pangoro's wrath, Maga pulled back his head a few inches. "I refuse to send my recruit to something he isn't ready to handle. You promised the other commanders and me, Guild Master, that you would give them their fair training before sending them on missions."

"Not a mission," Berceuse said slowly, like he was explaining a complicated issue to a small child, "but a task. If we're to retake Cherry Blossom Outpost, we need to have messengers and Pokémon carrying the supplies. And how dare you," Berceuse added, "doubt my specially chosen elite teams's ability to protect them?"

It was by pure chance that Maga realized that he was instinctively trying to prod the Chatot's chest. "You should know better than to deal in absolutes." Austere, who had sidled his way over to Aorun, clenched his claws as Maga once again nearly jabbed Berceuse.

Aorun feared what would have happened if he touched Berceuse again; he imagined vividly the way Sambo would pick him and slam him into the tables pushed off to the side, sending Maga into an explosion of sharp splinters. And when the Mienshao attempted to reply, a large battle would erupt between the great four commanders.

"I'm very appreciative of your sensible objections, Maga. Your fellow commanders honor your bravery to stand on this stage with me, and thank you for asking the questions they most likely have. But this is no longer a debate - go back to your recruit, Commander Maga, or else..."

The blighted Mienshao gritted his teeth, inspecting his Guild Master. Finally, everyone in the room could breathe with relief - Maga twisted around on his feet and stormed off of the stage. He walked the long distance back to his spot with his only recruit: a gaunt Breloom. Their scowls were eerily similar.

"Thank you, Maga. Allow me to repeat my intentions," Berceuse said after a good ruffling of his feathers. "The recruits are to carry out only the introductory sparring matches, so that their commanders may organize them properly. This is all that will be done for now, however: time is of the essence.

"Elite units Team Deputy and Team A.O and official unit Team Oenoe are to rid Cherry Blossom Outpost of its feral infestation and liberate the explorers trapped inside. The recruits will roam the outskirts of the outpost, restocking their materials and delivering messages as needed."

A loud groan came from Shabby, who threw himself over a table on the far side of the room and sighed heavily. Scared cringed as the Mightyena rolled about on the low table. "Remind me not to eat off of that table," Scared whispered to Aorun. It was a very wise decision from the Noibat. Shabby didn't seem excited at all, which irked Aorun greatly.

Once again, Berceuse had to get his orders on track. "The commanders must stay here - if the town catches wind that an outpost so close to us has been captured, it will cause a great panic. You will hold some contests in the center of town, in order to distract them to the many sudden absences. Do my _four_ commanders understand this?"

All four commanders assumed their salutes. Maga looked down bitterly, but he too eventually threw his arm up in front of him. "Shabby," Maga muttered to the moping elite member. "If my recruit is so much as scratched, I will end you."

Shabby laughed and cocked his head to the side. "Sheesh! Taking back outposts? That's baby stuff - we'll have it done by the afternoon. Especially with three teams." Nods of agreement and hope sprung out from the high-ranking Pokémon in the room. Berceuse himself smiled and hopped down from the stage. The optimism brought out something bright in the Guild Master's eyes.

"That's the proper attitude! Everyone - rule number one!"

Some of the recruits had never heard of the rules, and Aorun made sure to yell extra loud in order to cover for their confused mumbling. "_Don't shirk work!"_

_"_Two!"

"_Run away and pay!"_

"Three!"

"_Smiles go for miles!"_

"Thirty-nine!"

The Pokémon in the room fell silent. There were only supposed to be ten rules. _I don't get it, _Aorun thought frantically, _When did they make twenty-nine more?!_ Everyone tried to puzzle together what rule thirty-nine was before their Guild Master reprimanded them. He waited patiently at the bottom of the stage for an answer.

"Rule thirty-nine: when the dungeons scare you, turn to your nearest outpost for refuge." Everyone turned their eyes to the Charmander standing next to Aorun. Austere looked about frantically and chose to quickly fall into salute. "I read the full manual last night because I couldn't sleep." Dizzy lowered himself to the ground, ashamed to have kept the floor manager awake with his complaints.

In response, Berceuse laughed and shook his head. The moment Aorun heard the laughter, he desired to hear more of its harmonious notes. The Tyrunt had never experienced music before, yet the Chatot changed that with his great musical laughter. He enjoyed every second of the laugh as the Chatot went off on other business - most likely to retrieve the elite team members not in attendance.

Sunny took his place at the front of the stage after some time, making the long walk over to the raised platform. "Okay!" The Sunflora gave everyone a beaming smile, trying to match their Guld Master's sudden fervor. It was very close. "Everyone, clear the center of the room! It's time to spar!"

* * *

After some confused shuffling and reorganizing, the commanders had corralled the new explorers into a very loose circle about the room. There was much more room than Pokémon, which allowed them all to take up several feet of room.

Aorun's heart fluttered with anticipation, not knowing how to feel about fighting fellow guild mates so soon.

He was, at least, in better condition that Austere and Scared. Scared shook and murmured to himself, praying for a quick defeat. The well-read Charmander, however, wore a concern of genuine worry on his straight face. He eyes the center of the ring with a fear of something beyond pain. In an attempt to comfort them both, Aorun caught their attention and nodded to them confidently. It didn't help much.

Once the commotion in the room ceased, Pep jumped out from the circle and into the circle of the makeshift sparring ring. "Hello, everyone! The name's Pep, and I'm really excited to be here today! Who else is excited to be here?"

"Me, me!" Dizzy cried out to the Sylveon, bouncing up and down in his spot to the right of Sambo. The shrill shout bounced off the walls of the stone room. Eventually, some of the other recruits followed suit, calling out to Commander Pep. A gradual stream of yells of agreement rose up in the room, until everyone participated in Dizzy's excitement. Austere opened his mouth to join in, but snapped it shut without making a noise.

"Great! Since we're kind of pressed on time, I've found a way to mash up two parts of your introductory day into one! Before fighting, tell the other Pokémon and your fellow guild mates your name, why you are here, and something interesting about yourself." She pranced about, inspecting every part of the circle. "Well, play fair, and that's all I got! Who wants to go first?"

Blitz stepped forward the instant she offered. "I would like to go," he said, smirking at the Sylveon. The small Mudkip gasped and hid himself away under the table next to him. "If it my choice, I would like very much to 'introduce' myself to the Mudkip two spots away from me." A tiny yelp escaped from under the legs of the table.

She was very entertained by the idea, because Pep cheered for the Houndour. "Oh, someone is getting called out already? What interesting drama! Remember, recruits, playing rough is a fantastic way to relieve tension with your fellow teammates. Come on out, little Mudkip!"

Sambo gave Austere a look that said _"what's this about?"_ The sleepless Charmander turned his head away and scratched his back. This was probably what he feared; the large, tough Houndour would easily abuse the smaller Mudkip. At this point, they hardly knew any techniques. If Blitz pinned Dizzy down, he could bite or scratch him any way he liked until the commanders stopped him.

Unhappy but not too horrified, Dizzy crawled out from under the table. Pep gasped and pointed a paw at the tiny blue Pokémon. She let loose a long squeal. "Sambo, what the heck? That's the cutest little guy I've ever seen, ever! Where'd you get him?"

"Stop it, Pep. He came in last night - part of an arrangement the Chatot Guild has with his family." Successfully put off by Pep, the Mudkip slowly made his way into the center of the mess hall with Blitz. The Houndour looked back at him, ready to tear the him apart. They planted themselves in the center and stared at each other.

"Your names," Pep called out helpfully.

"O-oh." Dizzy looked around at all the guild mates watching him. "My name is Lordson Watersprite, Prince of the Geyser House Family." Sharp barks of laughter came from Blitz and from the spectators. Other than the name, though, Aorun didn't understand the humor. _Wow, _he thought gleefully, _I'm on a team with a prince! _

"B-but," he added halfheartedly, "you can just call me dizzy. I'm n-not allowed to join the Geyser Guild, so I h-hope everyone is o-o-okay with me exploring with you guys. Something interesting about me is that-"

"That you have the stupidest name - and nickname - in existence," Blitz finished for him. "My name is Blitz, prince of a wooden shack out in Treasure Town. I'm about to show you something very interesting, commanders: that this brat has no place being in the Chatot Guild." He crouched down and bared his teeth, ready to tear Dizzy down to size. "I'll show you how well I _roll over_, bigot."

Pep stared at the Houndour for a moment, and then smiled happily. "Heehee! No wonder Maga almost recruited you, Blitz."

The fuming Mienshao crossed his arms and looked away disdainfully. "Shut up Pep. Start the match."

"Oh, right. Begin, you two!"

Blitz didn't miss a single moment; right when Pep started the match, he breathed in deeply, filling up his lungs. Dizzy backed away fearfully, but no matter where he jumped to, the Houndour's head followed.

"Is he about to breathe _fire_ at the poor Mudkip?" Scared asked quietly. Determined grunts came from Dizzy as he tried to figure out when Blitz was planning to release the flames. "Y-yikes, that's a little malicious for a sparring match, huh?" Commander Sambo watched the two recruits he personally picked prepare to begin their fiery clash. He had no plan of stopping the Houndour from getting his way.

Tufts of violent flame exploded from Blitz's mouth and assailed Dizzy. They licked and desperately tried to clamp down on the young prince. Yet, somehow, Dizzy had managed to leap away from their devastating heat. "One!" Dizzy cried out to himself.

Surprised that the attack missed, Blitz attempted to do what he should have all along: pin the Mudkip down with his weight. He jumped deftly at his opponent as he landed, but the Mudkip swerved about on a foreleg and shot himself out the way. "Two!"

"Quit counting!" Blitz roared and flung himself again at the nimble enemy, trying frantically to do some damage. His infuriated eyes glittered in the embers left over from his flame attack as he clamped his teeth together, trying to grab Dizzy. Now the tables had turned; laughing gleefully, Dizzy cried out "three!"

Blitz couldn't help but bark out as the Mudkip's tail-fin slapped his head. He hopped away, trying to catch his balance. "Two!"

The Mudkip chased Blitz with much more success, knocking out his legs from under him and sending him into the ground. "One!"

He leaped over the downed Houndour and dragged him back up again. After the two rapid attacks, Blitz was disoriented and in pain. Dizzy smiled menacingly and flashed his orange, spiky cheek. Blitz widened his eyes, the orange cheek inspiring fear that broke through his confusion. He jerked himself away as Dizzy prepared to lacerate his muzzle with his cheek. "Zero-"

"Enough, Dizzy!" Dizzy stopped in his tracks and allowed Blitz to fall over. Sambo chewed his twig thoughtfully and listened to the Houndour's breathing. "As you can see, Blitz, underestimating an opponent does you no good."

Maga agreed with his other commanders for once. "Fool. If you had prepared yourself, that Mudkip wouldn't have surprised you so badly - you would have won. That's why you're with Sambo instead of me." The downed Pokémon growled with frustration.

Dizzy moved towards him cautiously. "B-Blitz, I really am sorry about the comment last night. I was very tired and I don't talk to many Pokémon outside of my family. Let me... let me help you up-"

_"Don't touch me!" _Blitz shot up and wrenched himself away from the Mudkip. His eyes were filled with disappointment and rage. Without another word, the Houndour ran from the center of the ring and back to his spot. Dizzy, rattled by the stare he just received, stalked away to his own spot.

Aorun sincerely worried now for Dizzy's safety. That look Blitz gave him... it was the look of a Pokémon who may attempt something drastic in the middle of the night. More than just nipping a tail-fin.

Sambo sighed and crossed his arms. If he noticed it, he didn't say anything. "Well, then. Who's up next?"


End file.
